Dera violence: Panchkula court rejects Honeypreet’s bail plea

The Panchkula Cour on Thursday rejected the bail plea of Honeypreet Insan, who is facing charges of sedition and inciting violence after the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim in two rape cases.

She had sought bail on the grounds that no evidence was found against her by the Haryana Police. The Haryana SIT formed to investigate the Panchkula violence had slapped sedition charges against Honeypreet.

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.

Honeypreet, in her petition, said that she has spent 245 days behind bars without committing any crime. Honeypreet, whose real name is Priyanka Taneja, pleaded that court that she should be granted bail as she was a woman.

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 claimed 41 lives and left several others injured.

A total of 32 people had been accused in the Panchkula violence and 18 of them have been granted bail as well.

Self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was convicted of rape by a court in Panchkula that triggered widespread violence in Haryana.

At least 30 people were killed and more than 250 had sustained injuries after which curfew was imposed in Panchkula and other places.

The Dera Saccha Sauda chief was found guilty of rape after an anonymous written complaint stating that the godman had sexually exploited his two female followers in the year 2002.