Honeypreet conspired to start arson: Police
PANCHKULA: Honeypreet, t he adopted daughter of jailed Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, was responsible for the violence that swept four states and killed 38 people in August after the controversial sect leader’s rape conviction, police claimed on Wednesday.
Haryana police say Honeypreet, whose real name is Priyanka Taneja, headed a crucial meeting of top Dera functionaries at the Sirsa headquarters of the sect on August 17 when it was decided to send hordes of people to Haryana’s Panchkula, where a CBI court convicted Singh for raping two women disciples.
A careful plan to spread arson and violence in case of an adverse verdict was also laid out at the meeting, police claimed. Honeypreet, who is said to be in her 30s, also arranged for ₹1.25 crore that reached Panchkula through an aide and was used to fund the massive build-up of crowd that topped 200,000 the morning of the verdict on August 25.
Honeypreet has denied all charges and said she was never present at the meeting but police say they have proof against her, based on their interrogation of other top functionaries of the sect.