AGRA: Slain bandit-turned-MP Phoolan Devi ’s kin Munni Devi, who was the key witness in the case, on Sunday came out in support of her sister’s killer, Sher Singh Rana, and said that he had been framed and the real killer was Phoolan’s husband, Umed Singh.

Both Munni Devi and Sher Singh Rana, who have been convicted for Phoolan’s murder and spent 13 years in jail, shared dais at the national convention of Akhil Bhartiya Chatriya Mahasabha on Sunday. She said that Sher Singh had been a victim of a deep-rooted conspiracy hatched by the government.

She appealed to the judiciary to get the real culprit to the book and give him exemplary punishment. She also demanded that Sher Singh be compensated for spending 13 years in jail.

She alleged that Phoolan’s husband Umed Singh was responsible for her murder. “He lied to my sister that he was single and got married to her, and later Behenji learnt about his first wife and daughter”, she said accusing Umed of marrying Phoolan only for her political clout and money.

Interestingly in an interview in 2002, Munni Devi had raised questions on Phoolan’s death and had stated, “At around 1pm, Behenji left the Parliament annexe in a Samajwadi Party vehicle. All along Sher Singh Rana alias Pankaj were following Behenji. The question is, how did Pankaj know that Behenji was taking that particular vehicle. Obviously someone from Parliament was giving all the information to Pankaj. As soon as Behenji got down from her vehicle, Balander [her security guard at the gate] opened the gate. Pankaj, who was right behind, fired at her. One of the bullets hit her in the head. As soon as the bullets were fired, I came running out of the kitchen. Behenji died at the gate itself.

Self-proclaimed Rajput leader, Sher Singh Rana, also claimed that the Delhi police was responsible for framing him. He said, “no one knows why they did that and under what pressure”. He said, he will get justice. as he had full faith in the judiciary.

Recently, Rana was also booked for the murder of Sachin Walia, brother of a Bhim army leader in Saharanpur. Rana, who is currently out on bail in the Phoolan Devi murder case, is the president of Rajput Mahasabha. He is among four people named by Kanti Walia, the victim’s mother.

Rana, accused of assassinating Phoolan Devi in Delhi in 2001, had been sentenced to life imprisonment by a local court in 2014. He was granted bail in 2017 as the case is pending in Delhi High Court.

After the murder of Phoolan Devi, Rana had fled to Dehradun from Delhi and told reporters that he had taken revenge for the killing of 22 Thakurs (Rajputs) in Kanpur's Behmai by the bandit and her gang in 1981. In court, however, he denied having killed Phoolan Devi.

