Sher Singh Rana

Pankaj Singh Pundir (Hindi pronunciation: [sher singh raana]; born 17 May 1976), popularly known as Sher Singh Rana or S. Rana, is an Indian criminal turned politician[2] who was sentenced for the 2001 vendetta-related assassination of Indian dacoit-turned-parliamentarian, Phoolan Devi.[3] In August 2014, Rana was sentenced to life imprisonment and a fine of ₹100,000 (approximately US$1,600) for Devi's assassination, as well as charges of conspiracy, after a 10-year trial.[4]

Sher Singh Rana
Born
Pankaj Singh Pundir[1]

(1976-05-17) 17 May 1976
Roorkee, Uttarakhand
Other namesS. Rana
OccupationPolitician
OrganizationR. J. P. (Rashtravadi Janlok Party)
SpousePratima Singh
Criminal chargeMurder
Escape from Jail
Details
VictimsPhoolan Devi
Killed1
WeaponPistol

Early life

Sher Singh Rana was born as Pankaj Singh Pundir in Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India on 17 May 1976.[5]

Phoolan Devi assassination

Rana, along with two other men, murdered Phoolan Devi outside her home in New Delhi in July 2001. At the time of her assassination, ex-dacoit Phoolan Devi was a sitting Member of Parliament in the 13th Lok Sabha. Rana claims he was motivated to take revenge upon her for her actions as a leader of a bandit gang that acted primarily against the higher castes in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Rana was arrested and confessed to the murder.[6][7]

Escape from Tihar jail

Rana re-escaped from Tihar jail, a high-security prison facility in Delhi, on 17 February 2004 with the help of his friend Sandeep, who in the guise of a policeman pretended to take Rana to a Haridwar court.[8] He went to Moradabad and checked into a hotel. He then contacted relatives who sent him ₹1 lakh through Sandeep. From Ranchi he applied for a passport in the name of Sanjay Gupta.[9]

During the two-month wait for the passport, he visited Gaya and Benaras, where he met his "financer" Subhash Thakur, who was then lodged in a local jail. Rana then went to Kolkata, where he obtained a three-month Bangladesh visa.[10] Rana claimed that he took a house for rent at Khulna and lived there, posing as Sanjay. After he fled to Bangladesh, he bought a satellite phone for ₹16,500 so that he could contact his relatives and friends without being tracked.[11] Throughout his journey — from Moradabad to Ranchi, Kolkata, Bangladesh and Dubai to Afghanistan,[9] - he kept getting about ₹15,000 to ₹20,000 per month as personal expense allegedly from the accomplices of an Uttar Pradesh-based criminal Subhash Thakur. He visited Kolkata often to get his visa extended. At times, he did this in Dhaka.[12]

Abscondence and controversies

Later, he illegally travelled from Dhaka to Dubai. He was later glorified by the Hindu Kshatriya Sena.[13]

Claims of bringing back remains of Prithviraj Chauhan

In his statement given to police during his arrest, he claimed to have brought the remains of 11th century Hindu Rajput ruler Prithviraj Chauhan from Kandahar. Rana made claims to have built memorial of the king in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh too, but Kanpur police found the claims to be false and only a foundation stone for a temple existed there.[14]

Re-arrest

On 25 April 2006 he was re-arrested from Kolkata by SIT as a suspect buying Hindi newspaper.[15][16]

Release

A trial court in January 2012 allowed Sher Singh Rana, to file his nomination papers from Tihar to contest Uttar Pradesh assembly election.[17] The Delhi High Court has granted bail to Sher Singh Rana and he was released on 24 October 2016.[18]

Afterwards

He married with Pratima Singh on 28 February 2018, who is the daughter of former Member of Legislative Assembly from Madhya Pradesh, Rana Pratap Singh in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh by taking a shagun of Rs. 51.[19][20] In the year 2019, he formed his own political party, Rashtravadi Janlok Party (RJP).[21]

References
  1. Wright, George (18 February 2004). "Bandit Queen murder suspect escapes from jail". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  2. Sharma, Unnati (4 April 2022). "Phoolan murder, jailbreak, 'Prithviraj's ashes': Life of Sher Singh Rana, coming soon as biopic". ThePrint. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  3. "Phoolan Devi's killer arrested in Kolkata". The Times of India. 25 April 2006. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  4. "Killer of Phoolan Devi, India's 'Bandit Queen', given life sentence". The Guardian. 14 August 2014. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020.
  5. "कौन है फूलन का क़ातिल शेर सिंह राणा". BBC News हिंदी (in Hindi). 14 August 2014. Archived from the original on 3 December 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  6. "Man arrested for murder of 'Bandit Queen'". The Telegraph. London. 27 July 2001. Archived from the original on 12 December 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  7. "Profile of Sher Singh Rana". Times of India. 27 July 2001. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  8. Raj Shekhar (9 August 2014). "How Phoolan's killer Rana just walked out of jail with fake cop | Delhi News - Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  9. Daniyal, Abhishek Dey & Shoaib. "Dalit man's death in UP puts spotlight on Phoolan Devi's killer and his rise as a Thakur icon". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 11 May 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  10. "Tihar goes hi-tech to prevent Sher Singh Rana style escape". www.outlookindia.com. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  11. "Tihar jailbreak: Fake cop held". www.rediff.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  12. "Tihar break case: Two get lighter term". Hindustan Times. 9 December 2007. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  13. Pandey, Sidharth (8 August 2014). "Phoolan Devi Murder Case: Main Accused Sher Singh Rana Found Guilty". NDTV. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  14. "Indiana Jones of Etawah". Hindustan Times. 26 April 2006. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  15. "Hindi newspaper subscription gave Rana away in Kolkata, say police". The Indian Express. 9 August 2014. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  16. "Phoolan murder accused arrested in Kolkata". DNA India. 25 April 2006. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  17. "Phoolan 'killer' to fight UP polls from Tihar". The Times of India. 25 January 2012. Archived from the original on 6 July 2013.
  18. "Sher Singh Rana Gets Bail In Phoolan Devi Murder Case". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 23 August 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  19. "दहेज में 10 करोड़ की प्रॉपर्टी लेने से किया इनकार, चर्चा में है इस शख्स की शादी". Dainik Bhaskar (in Hindi). 20 February 2018. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  20. Tapan Susheel (21 February 2018). "Sher Singh Rana: Sher Singh Rana, convicted of Phoolan Devi's murder, gets married | Dehradun News - Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  21. "Sher Singh Rana, key accused in Phoolan Devi murder case, joins hands with UKD to contest Delhi polls". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 20 January 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
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