Phoolan Devi murder: Court reserves order on punishment

New Delhi, Aug 12: A court on Tuesday reserved its order on the quantum of sentence against main accused Sher Singh Rana, convicted for killing bandit-turned-politician Phoolan Devi.

Delhi Police has demanded death penalty for Rana.

Additional Sessions Judge Bharat Parashar fixed Aug 14 for delivering the order on the quantum of sentence against Rana.

On Aug 8, the court convicted Rana, who gunned down Phoolan Devi, to avenge the 1981 Behmai massacre in which she killed 17 people of the higher caste Thakur community.

The court convicted Rana on charges of murder and attempt to murder with common intention. However, he was acquitted of charges relating to criminal conspiracy and under the Arms Act.

At the time of her murder, Phoolan Devi, whose dramatic life inspired many books and an internationally acclaimed movie "Bandit Queen", was a Samajwadi Party parliamentarian from Mirzapur constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

Phoolan Devi was shot dead July 25, 2001 outside her residence at Ashoka Road by Rana and his associates, police said.

Besides Rana, there were 11 other accused in the case. One of them, Pradeep, died following a heart attack in Tihar Jail in November 2013 and the others were let off.

Rana was arrested July 27, 2001. However, in 2004, he fled from the high security Tihar Jail.

In 2006, he was arrested in Kolkata, brought back to Delhi and lodged again in Tihar Jail.

IANS