Five more arrested for bid to free Dera chief

Haryana Police on Thursday arrested five more people in connection with the alleged conspiracy to help Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh escape from the courtroom after his conviction in a rape case on August 25. Three Haryana Police commandos were arrested from Panchkula, while a Rajasthan Police personnel, Om Prakash, was nabbed in Hanumangarh. The arrested commandos were identified as head constables (HC) Amit Kumar and Rajesh Kumar, and constable Rajesh Kumar.

Probe by the Haryana Police revealed that apart from these three commandos, seven policemen from other states — uniformed, but not on official duty — were part of Ram Rahim’s convoy to the court on the day of the verdict.

Panchkula Police Commissioner A S Chawla said, “Three arrested Haryana Police commandos, along with other police personnel from Punjab, Chandigarh and Rajasthan, were found present in Panchkula on August 25. They were in Panchkula in police uniform. The three Haryana Police commandos were summoned, but they could not give any satisfactory reply as to why they came to Panchkula on that day.”

Separately, a fifth person, Dilawar Insaan, was also arrested from Sonepat on Thursday in connection with the case.