HONEYPREET MOVES HC FOR BAIL

NEW DELHI: Honeypreet Insan, who has been on the run following the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in two rape cases, on Monday approached the Delhi High Court seeking transit anticipatory bail, her lawyer said.

Priyanka Taneja alias Honeypreet, the adopted daughter of the jailed Dera chief, tops the list of 43 persons 'wanted' by the Haryana Police in connection with incidents of violence that had followed Ram Rahim's conviction in the rape cases. Earlier, a lookout notice was issued against Honeypreet by the police.

Her lawyer Pradeep Kumar Arya said that they have filed the anticipatory bail petition in the Delhi High Court and the matter would be mentioned tomorrow before a bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal for early hearing.

Ram Rahim was convicted by the special CBI court in Panchkula on August 25, following which violence and arson had erupted in Panchkula and Sirsa districts of Haryana which had left 41 people dead and several others injured.

The CBI court on August 28 had sentenced Ram Rahim to 20 years in prison for raping two of his disciples in 2002.

Honeypreet had accompanied the Dera head when he had come to the special CBI court on August 25. She had also travelled along with him in the special chopper which ferried them to Rohtak from Panchkula after the conviction.

The controversial sect head is currently lodged in Sunaria jail in Rohtak district of Haryana.

Several teams of Haryana Police have travelled across the country, including the Indonepal border, to trace the whereabouts of Honeypreet.

Meanwhile, Ram Rahim on Monday moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging the trial court's verdict.

In April 2002, an anonymous letter was written to the then chief justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, complaining about the alleged sexual exploitation of women followers at the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters in Sirsa.

In May 2002, the high court had directed Sirsa district and session judge to probe the allegations in the letter. In September 2002, the high court handed over the matter to the CBI after the district court indicated the possibility of sexual exploitation.