A court in Panchkula on Tuesday sent Pawan Insan, a close aide of rape convict Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, to five days police remand.
Pawan is accused of hatching a conspiracy and masterminding Panchkula violence along with Aditya Insan and Honeypreet Insan on August 25. He was arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Haryana Police on Monday from lalru town in Punjab, around 30 km from Chandigarh.
He had been on the run since the August 25 violence in Panchkula adjoining Chandigarh, in which 41 people were killed and over 260 injured. Pawan Insan is the former spokesperson of the Dera chief and used to manage the media for the self-styled godman.
Panchkula DCP Manbir Singh said a team headed by ACP Mukesh Malhotra arrested Pawan Insan on Monday evening.
Notably, thousands of followers of the sect chief had indulged in largescale violence in Panchkula following his conviction for the rape of two female disciples.
The sect chief was sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment by the Central Bureau of Investigation special court in the rape cases and fined over Rs 30 lakh. He is currently lodged at the District Jail in Sunaria near Rohtak.
Close aides of the sect chief like Honeypreet Insan, Aditya Insan and Pawan Insan were booked by the police for sedition, instigating the mobs and criminal conspiracy.
While Honeypreet Insan was arrested in early October, after remaining fugitive for 38 days, Pawan Insan remained elusive for 85 days.
The Panchkula police now hope to arrest top Dera aide Aditya Insan with the help of Pawan.
Pawan Insan, Aditya Insan and Honeypreet have topped the list of 43 “wanted” people. The list was released by the state police in September in connection with the violence following Ram Rahim’s conviction.