The
Haryana police are yet to arrest the main conspirators of the August 25, 2017 violence in
Panchkula after Dera Sacha Sauda head
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was convicted in two cases of rape. Many cases registered by the police have fallen flat for the want of strong evidence. TOI’s Manvir
Saini questions Haryana’s director-general of police (DGP) B S Sandhu on the issue.
A year has passed, but the police are yet to nab Dr Aditya Insaan who has been named as the main conspirator behind the Panchkula violence. Has the Haryana police failed?
The police have not failed, our teams are already on the job to arrest him. As a part of putting pressure on the accused, we have initiated the process to attach his properties. He is not a stray example, you see there are so many hardcore criminals whose names figure in the country’s list of most wanted accused. We don’t rule out the possibility that he might have escaped from the Nepal route. But, yes, our efforts are on.
Not just Aditya Insaan, other accused like Vipassana and Dr PR Nain too have given the Haryana police a slip despite appearing before the SIT in
Sirsa. The cops allowed them to leave before the SIT team from Panchkula could reach. Isn’t this a major lapse?
These things happened very fast. As the two (Vipassana and Nain) had joined the investigations, we were hopeful that they would join the other investigations as and when called. After a few rounds of interrogation, our teams reached the conclusion about their involvement in the crime. Meanwhile, they have gone elusive, but nobody can escape for long.
Many cases registered against the accused, including those charged with sedition are falling flat in the courts and the accused are being exonerated. Don’t you think that the police have failed to prove charges again the Dera followers?
We have started reviewing the cases wherein charges have been dropped by the courts or where any serious lapse has come to the fore. If required, we shall appeal the verdicts. In case of poor prosecution, we shall seek an explanation from the investigation officer as well. However, in the main cases that include conspiracy and violence linked to Honeypreet and other senior Dera functionaries, we have provided all the required evidence to the court in case files while filing the chargesheets.
You have led the Dera operation. Are you satisfied with the action taken on August 25 and the consequent arrests and investigations?
The August 25 incidents were unfortunate. We exercised restraint before resorting to final action. Our priority was to ensure safety and security of the residents of Panchkula. Our jawans too suffered injuries. But we were able to control the mob with some casualties. As for the rest, investigations and prosecution are an ongoing process.
