Panchkula police question constable who escorted Honeypreet to Dera headquarters in Sirsa

“Vikas joined duty back in his parent wing of the police department and he cooperated with the investigating agency,” added the commissioner.
Police sources said Vikas had observed disturbing things in Sirsa and he preferred to report back to his parent wing, Haryana Armed Police (HAP), on August 26. He was summoned and questioned by a member of the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which was constituted to probe cases related to the violence in Panchkula that broke out on August 25 following the conviction of Ram Rahim for rape.

Police sources added that the CBI special court had ordered Deputy Commissioner of Police Sumit Kumar and his team to transport Gurmeet and Honeypreet to Sunaria jail from Panchkula and Vikas was also included in that team on August 25. Senior police officer concedes ‘error’ in run-up to Gurmeet Ram Rahim verdict

The Panchkula district authorities made an “error” in permitting thousands of Dera followers to move from the Naam Charcha Ghar at Sector 23 where they had first gathered and regrouped around the Tau Devi Lal Stadium at Sector 3, on the night of August 23, two days before the verdict against Dera head Gurmeet Ram Rahim, said a senior police officer of Panchkula.

“We had planned to corral all the Dera followers on the other of Ghaggar river towards Sector 23, Sector 24, Sector 25, Sector 26, but we failed to stop them from coming out across the new bridge on Ghaggar river from the side of Sector 21,” Chawla told Chandigarh Newsline. He did not say whether the error was on part of the police department or the civil administration. But, he said, once they had been permitted to cross the bridge, the focus shifted to enhancing the security of the district court complex. “More security personnel were deployed around the entire Sector 1 following the gathering of Dera followers around Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Sector 3 from the side of Naam Charcha Ghar in Sector 23, on August 23,” said the commissioner.

On August 25, when Ram Rahim was convicted of rape charges, the Dera followers had turned violent and police resorted to firing, resulting in the death of 34 Dera followers. The area, adjoining the Tau Devi Lal Stadium, was one of the epicentres of violence. The Naam Charcha Ghar at Sector 23 was where Dera followers had first assembled in Panchkula.

Meanwhile, the police have requested the state government to look into its decision of issuing a chargesheet against former DCP Ashok Kumar, suspended on August 26. “We have requested the government to look into this decision and it has assured us of considering our demand positively,” said Chawla.