A Delhi court convicted Sher Singh Rana on Friday for the murder of Phoolan Devi, MP and ex-dacoit, here in 2001. She was shot five times outside her official residence on 44 Ashoka Road.
“Why only me? Why are you convicting only me, Sir? Can I murder someone alone?” asked Rana after the verdict was pronounced in a packed courtroom.
Rana was held guilty of murder and attempt to murder, but acquitted of the charge of conspiracy and those under the Arms Act. The arguments on the quantum of sentence will be heard on Tuesday. The police said in its charge sheet that Rana murdered Phoolan Devi to avenge the killing of 22 Thakurs in the 1981 Behmai massacre.
Dhan Prakash, alias Vicky, Shekhar, Rajbir, Rajinder, Amit Rathi, Praveen Mittal, Keshav Chauhan, Surinder Singh, alias Suri, and Vijay, brother of the prime accused, were acquitted.
Mustaqeem, who supplied weapons for the crime, and Shravan, who used to work in a liquor shop, were also acquitted. A twelfth accused, Pradeep, died in the Tihar jail last November. Rana, Shekhar, Rajbir and Shravan were in judicial custody, while others were out on either bail or parole. Dheeraj Rana, who was acquitted, was on parole on medical grounds.
Phoolan was shot five times
Sher Singh Rana, convicted by a Delhi court on Friday for the murder of Phoolan Devi, surrendered dacoit and Samajwadi Party MP, was waiting for her in front of her house and fired at her head while Vicky, who was acquitted, pumped bullets in her stomach, the charge sheet said. Later, Rana fired indiscriminately at Phoolan, while Vicky fired at her bodyguard, who returned the fire. Phoolan was shot five times.
The prosecution case was that Rana and two other masked men had attacked Phoolan as she returned home from the Lok Sabha for lunch. They then fled in a Maruti car to ISBT.
All the men had been charge sheeted for criminal conspiracy, murder, attempt to murder, destruction of evidence and under the Arms Act.
As per the prosecution, Rana procured the weapons from his friend Rathi, owner of a firearms shop in Roorkee.
He came to New Delhi along with Vicky, Shekhar, Rajbir, Uma Kashyap, and her husband, Vijay Kumar Kashyap, in two cars in the morning of July 25, 2001.
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