As Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's followers went on a violent rampage, the Dera Sacha Sauda chief was flown in a special helicopter to a jail in Rohtak's Sunaria. The rape convict was accompanied by Honeypreet Insan, his adopted daughter and confidante.
Now speculations are rife that Honeypreet Insan might take a more important position in the controversial sect since the future of her 'dad' hangs in balance.
Also Read: Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh: How Haryana violence reminds one of Bhopal gas disaster
Who is Honeypreet Singh?
There is nothing usual about Honeypreet. She enjoys a stardom and a crazy 1 million followers on Twitter. Her short bio on the microblogging site is: "Papa's angel, philanthropist, director, editor and actress... Passionate to transform my Rockstar Papa's directions into actions". On Facebook, she has more than five lakh followers.
"Her real name is Priyanka Taneja." as per a DNA report. She hails from Fatehpur near Hisar in Haryana and is believed to be in her 30s. According to reports, she was named 'Honeypreet' after she married Vishwas Gupta, a Dera follower from Sirsa, in 1999.
When she complained to Dera chief of dowry harassment by her in-laws in 2009, he adopted her as daughter and Vishwas as son-in-law, following which Gupta's business got a big boost.
However, things did not work out as planned and, in 2011, Gupta sought judicial custody of his wife from Ram Rahim.
He further filed a case against the controversial guru alleging that he sexually exploited Honeypreet. But, following an out-of-court settlement, he took back his complaint.
Filmmaking partner
She is called Ram Rahim's prodigy for a reason. Like father, Honeypreet too claims to have learnt editing, direction and acting sans special training. Also, she acted in all the films of the 50-year-old Dera chief and calls him "Guru pa".
"When her dad watched her putting so much of hard work and learning directing skills so fast, he thought of giving her a chance to debut as a director in MSG The Warrior Lion Heart," according to Dera website.
'Questionable' relationship?
According to a Quint report, a Dera Sacha Sauda devotee, on the condition of anonymity for reasons of personal security, said the "so-called father-daughter relationship" between Gurmeet Ram Rahim and Honeypreet Insan is "certainly questionable".
Hansraj Chauhan, a former Ashram member and victim of Ram Rahim's cruel castration procedure, said, "Baba has two biological daughters and a son. There is no clarity on why he adopted Honeypreet when he already had two daughters. Baba's wife lived in a secluded and well-guarded housing unit within the Sirsa ashram."
Chauhan had moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court to expose the infamous Baba's wrongdoings.
