The Hindu : `Rana was planning big to hog headlines'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 19, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

`Rana was planning big to hog headlines'

By Devesh K. Pandey

NEW DELHI, FEB. 18. Shekhar Rana, a co-accused in the Phoolan Devi murder case, had in a casual conversation with some of the Tihar Jail staff some 10 weeks ago, reportedly indicated that his cousin and main-accused, Sher Singh Rana, had been planning something big for quite some time.

According to sources, Shekhar, who along with another co-accused Rajbir, had surrendered at Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh in 2001, told some of the prison staff to expect something sensational about Tihar Jail in the media soon. At that time, the unsuspecting prison staff perhaps had no inkling of what was in the offing.

It is learnt that the Crime Branch, which is now questioning about half-a-dozen jail officials, would also question the co-accused in the Phoolan Devi murder case, including Shekhar. A senior police officer said since Rana had a very sharp brain, it was difficult to guess what he would do next. "But whatever he would do, he would certainly try to hog the limelight. He has always been obsessed with getting his name published in the media," said a police officer.

After surrendering at the Dehra Dun Press Club on July 27, 2001, an unrepentant Rana had readily accepted that he murdered Phoolan Devi to avenge the Behmai carnage and to get wide publicity. In a way he took such a step to render the test-identification parade useless, suggesting that he had planned his surrender taking into account all legal aspects. Investigations into Rana's previous activities give an insight into his personality. Those who interrogated him found him very shrewd and he used to do meticulous planning before committing any crime. In two of the dacoities he allegedly committed in Uttaranchal, Rana had his face covered with a monkey cap. Before gunning down the "Bandit Queen", he got his accomplice, Shrawan Kumar, arrested in a case under the Excise Act at Hardwar in his name, to create an alibi that he was not in the Capital when Phoolan Devi was murdered.

In a startling revelation, one of his lawyers representing him in that case told the Delhi police that Rana would often ask him ways to get his photograph published on the front page of newspapers. The lawyer told the police that Rana was obsessed with getting publicity and wanted to figure on the front pages of newspapers like Manu Sharma and Vikas Yadav - the accused in the sensational Jessica Lal murder case.

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