Charges framed against Sher Singh Rana, four aides

New Delhi, May 2 (UNI) Charges were today framed against Sher Singh Rana, the alleged killer of dacoit-turned-politician Phoolan Devi, and his four associates in the sensational jail break case of February 2004.

The accused have been slapped with charges of criminal conspiracy, impersonation, under Sections 216, 224 and 225 of the IPC.

Rana had made a dramatic escape from the Tihar jail, where he was lodged while facing trial for the murder of Phoolan Devi outside her official residence at Ashoka Road in Delhi on July 25, 2001.

The four who had helped him escape were Vikram, Rana's brother, one Shravan Kumar, Sunil Agrawal, who posed as a lawyer and Sandeep Thakur, as a 'cop' who helped him out of the jail, on the pretext of taking him to a Hardwar court.

Rana was caught two years later, in Kolkata.

The court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Seema Maini fixed May 23 as the date for prosecution to present its evidence.

UNI