CHARGES FRAMED AGAINST HONEYPREET, 39 OTHERS
CHANDIGARH: A Panchkula court on Wednesday framed charges against Honeypreet Insan and 39 others in a case pertaining to the violence that broke out in Panchkula following the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in two rape cases in 2017.
CHANDIGARH: A Panchkula court on Wednesday framed charges against Honeypreet Insan and 39 others in a case pertaining to the violence that broke out in Panchkula following the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in two rape cases in 2017.
The court of chief judicial magistrate Rohit Wattas framed the charges top dera functionaries, including Honeypreet Insan, the adopted daughter of Ram Rahim, and other core-committee members under Sections 145 (joining or continuing in unlawful assembly, knowing it has been commanded to disperse), 146 (rioting), 150 (hiring or conniving at hiring, of persons to join unlawful assembly), 151 (knowingly joining or continuing in assembly of five or more persons after it has been commanded to disperse), 152 (assaulting or obstructing public servant when suppressing riot, etc), 153 (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.
The case will come up for next hearing on December 13.
Honeypreet was present in the court during the framing of charges.
On November 2, additional district and sessions judge Sanjay Sandhir had dropped sedition charges against Honeypreet and the other accused.
Thereafter on November 6, she was granted bail in the violence case registered at the Sector 5 police station in Panchkula in August 2017.
As per the police charge sheet, Honeypreet and the 45-member Dera management committee hatched a conspiracy at the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters to spread violence in Panchkula if Ram Rahim was convicted in the rape cases from 2002.
In the FIR, apart from Honeypreet, Dera chief’s top aides Surinder Dhiman, Chamkaur Singh,
Daan Singh, Dilawar Singh, Rakesh Kumar, Khairati Lal and Govind Ram are also mentioned as accused.
The prosecution had argued that a meeting was held at the Dera headquarters on August 17, 2017 which was attended by the Dera chief Aditya Insan, Honeypreet and others.
It was planned in the meeting that dera followers carrying sticks, umbrellas, petrol and chili powder should throng Panchkula
by August 25, 2017 and go on the rampage if the Dera head was held guilty and arrested, as per the prosecution.
Police have arrested 41 accused in the case till date, while five, including Aditya Insan, were declared proclaimed offenders (PO) by a local court last year.
The Dera chief’s conviction triggered arson and violence across Haryana that claimed 36 lives and left 250 people injured.