Honeypreet appears before Panchkula court, hearing defers to December 21

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NEW DELHI: Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's adopted daughter Honeypreet Insan was on Monday appeared before the Panchkula District Court.

Honeypreet was accompanied by other accused in connection with the Panchkula violence case. The hearing, however, deferred to December 21.

Last week, Honeypreet was presented before a Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court in Panchkula. She was also given a copy of the chargesheet against her.

Others named in the chargesheet were also presented before the court along with Honeypreet, who is currently lodged in Ambala jail.

Honeypreet has been charged inciting violence in Panchkula after the rape case verdict against Ram Rahim. She has also been charged with sedition.

The 1200-page chargesheet was filed in a CBI court by a Special Investigation Team.

Honeypreet, whose real name is Priyanka Taneja, was arrested on October 3 after remaining fugitive for 38 days after the August 25 violence.

She has been lodged in the Central Jail, Ambala, since October 23. The SIT took Honeypreet to various locations in Haryana to establish evidence of her involvement in the violence.

A court in Panchkula had in September issued arrest warrants against top Dera functionaries - Honeypreet, Aditya Insan and Pawan Insan. All three were booked by the Haryana 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 on two counts of rape of female disciples in 1999.

Ram Rahim has been sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of over Rs 30 lakh.

His rape conviction led to violence in Panchkula and Sirsa in Haryana, leaving 41 people dead and over 260 injured. Isolated incidents of violence were also reported from Delhi and several places in Punjab.The Haryana Police had sounded an international alert against all three.

Honeypreet's ex-husband Vishwas Gupta had alleged illicit relations between her and the sect chief.The woman - who has been claiming to be Ram Rahim's "adopted daughter" - starred as the lead heroine in five films he directed, produced and acted in over a period of three years.