Gurmeet Ram Rahim's Close Aide Honeypreet Insan Granted Bail In Panchkula Violence Case

A local court on Wednesday granted bail to Honeypreet Insan alias Priyanka Taneja, the close aide and adopted daughter of jailed Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a case pertaining to violence in Panchkula in 2017 following the later's conviction in two rape cases.

Honeypreet, in her mid-30s, had been the closest aide of Ram Rahim since 2009. (File Photo/ PTI)

Panchkula: A local court on Wednesday granted bail to Honeypreet Insan alias Priyanka Taneja, the close aide and adopted daughter of jailed Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a case pertaining to violence in Panchkula in 2017 following the later's conviction in two rape cases. The ruling comes after the court dropped sedition charges against Honeypreet and 39 other accused in the case. Other charges against her were bailable, reports added. Honeypreet had moved her plea on Wednesday morning, four days after a court dropped sedition charges against her and other accused. Dera spokesperson Aditya Insan and other core committee members were also booked for the violence. On November 2, local court additional session Judge Sanjay Singh Sandhir dropped Sections 121 and 121A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against Honeypreeet and 39 others. Moving a regular bail petition, Honeypreet had told the court that she was innocent and falsely implicated by the police in the riot case. She has been accused of plotting the violence and inciting the Dera followers who indulged in rioting on August 25, 2017. However, Honeypreet said that when the violence took place, she was with Gurmeet Ram Rahim and accompanied him to Rohtak's Sunariya jail. She also alleged that despite having no role in the violence, she has been named as an accused in the case. Though Honeypreet has been granted bail by the court, she would still face trails under other charges including Sections 145, 146, 150, 152 and 120B of the IPC. "The court has dropped charges against accused under Section 121 (waging or attempting to wage war) and 121-A (conspiracy to commit offences punishable by section 121) of the IPC," defence lawyer Suresh Rohilla told the media. He said charges have been framed against her and others under various sections related to unlawful assembly and criminal conspiracy. Honeypreet and another accused Sukhwinder Kaur, who are lodged in Ambala jail, appeared for the hearing through video-conference, while the other accused appeared in the court in person.  Honeypreet, in her mid-30s, had been the closest aide of Ram Rahim since 2009. Honeypreet, Aditya Insan and Pawan Insan were booked by the police on charges of sedition, inciting violence and being involved in a conspiracy to help the Dera chief escape after his conviction by a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on August 25, 2017, on two counts of rape of female disciples in 1999. The woman -- who has been claiming to be Ram Rahim's "adopted daughter" -- starred as the main heroine in five films that he directed, produced and acted in over a period of three years. Ram Rahim has been sentenced to 20 years rigorous imprisonment with a fine of over Rs 30 lakh. His rape conviction led to violence in Panchkula and Sirsa towns in Haryana that left 38 people dead and 264 injured. Isolated incidents of violence were also reported from Delhi and several places in Punjab.