New turn to Phoolan murder case

By Devesh K. Pandey

NEW DELHI, AUG. 1. The Phoolan Devi murder case took a new turn today with a startling ``disclosure'' that the prime accused, Sher Singh Rana alias Sheru alias Pankaj, and Rajender alias Ravinder were in the Hardwar jail till July 26 in separate excise cases as per police records there even as the two are alleged to have shot the Samajwadi Party MP dead outside her 44, Ashoka Road residence in New Delhi on July 25 as per Delhi police investigations.

The Delhi police now find themselves in a quandary despite having arrested four ``accused'' in the case. Briefing mediapersons, the Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch), Mr. Qamar Ahmad, said a police team had been sent to Hardwar to investigate the mystery. He said it could be an alibi by the assailants and refused to divulge further details about the interrogation of the four accused.

According to the Hardwar police records, Sher Singh Rana, who was reportedly arrested in 1996 in an illicit liquor case, had secured bail. His bail was cancelled for some reasons and he was jailed on July 18. As per the records, a person by the name Sher Singh Rana was released on July 26, a day after Phoolan's murder.

Police sources said the existing record revealed that prior to Phoolan's murder, the assailants had planned to create legal complications. ``The police record is a legal proof of their presence in the Hardwar jail which will be accepted in the court of law. However, it seems to be an alibi carefully planned by them to get mileage during court proceedings,'' said the source. The record states that Rana was in the Hardwar jail when Phoolan was gunned down in Delhi.

Similarly, the police records in Hardwar state that another prime accused, Rajender, who is alleged to have shot at Phoolan's bodyguard, was in jail from July 18 to July 25. The record again states that Rajender, who was arrested in an excise case on July 18 this year, was released on July 26, the day Rana was released.

According to Delhi police, Rana surrendered on July 27 in Dehra Dun while Rajender surrendered along with two other accused - Shekhar Rana and Rajbir Gujjar - in Shaharanpur on Monday. ``The two facts are diametrically opposite, and the truth has to be discovered soon,'' said a police officer.

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