No phone call facility for Dera chief’s jailed daughter

The jailed adopted daughter of rape convict Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh will not be allowed to use the prison's phone call facility.

The Haryana government has declined the plea made by the sect chief’s adopted daughter, Honeypreet, seeking permission to use the phone to speak with a select few people.

The government has informed the Punjab and Haryana High Court that allowing Honeypreet the prison inmate calling system (PICS) facility may lead to violence.

The court was informed that Honeypreet is facing trial for serious charges, including sedition. The government said some senior Dera Sacha Sauda functionaries are still absconding.

Honeypreet has been behind bars since October 3, 2017. The government said that the calling system introduced in Haryana for jail inmates to talk to their relatives etc, cannot be extended in the case of Honeypreet as the system was a facility and not a rule.

Meanwhile, the state government moved a petition before the special CBI court in Panchkula seeking the quantum of sentence to be announced to Gurmeet Ram Rahim on Thursday be read out to him through video conferencing.

The court last week held three people, including Gurmeet Ram Rahim, guilty of murder and criminal conspiracy.

The government has maintained that the presence of the jailed sect chief in the Panchkula court on Thursday may lead to violence. The court reserved the judgement on the government’s plea for Wednesday.

On August 25, 2016, when the sect chief was held guilty by the CBI court in two rape cases, violence broke out in Panchkula and Sirsa leading to the death of 42 people in police firing.