The killers left nothing to chance

By Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

NEW DELHI, JULY 25. Those who live by the sword, die by the sword. In Ms. Phoolan Devi's case it was bullets which had the final say. The indiscriminate firing on the woman whose name had become synonymous with ``revenge for honour'' showed that the assailants were hell-bent to ensure she did not survive the attempt.

Leaving nothing to chance, the armed men walked close to the former ``Bandit Queen'' before shooting her. No wonder most of the bullets hit her.

A doctor on duty at Lohia Hospital said Ms. Phoolan Devi was brought in at about 1-35 p.m., her body riddled with bullets. ``Her sister, who was crying `Maar daala, maar daala!' (They have killed her!), rushed in with the body holding a pistol -- apparently belonging to her injured bodyguard -- in her hands.''

Immediately the doctors swung into action and rushed Ms. Phoolan Devi -- whose face and the rest of the body was splattered with blood -- into the Resuscitation Room. ``Within minutes the room was full of neurosurgeons, cardiothoracic surgeons and other specialists. Though we tried hard to revive her, we were unable to do so.''

The doctor said the fatal shot had got Ms. Phoolan Devi on the forehead. ``This wound was about 8 cm long and 4 cm wide and ran backward from the front of the forehead. One could see the brain matter through this wound.''

There were four other bullet injuries on the head, one of these near the left temple. She was also shot in the chest, right shoulder, right elbow and slightly over it. She also had bruises on the face caused probably by her fall. Considering the nature of injuries, the doctors believe she must have died on the spot.

The tragedy left her family shocked. Her sister's son Santosh, weeping bitterly at the hospital mortuary, said ``she was like a mother to me. I was away to get a car repaired. Who knows she might have survived had I been at home?''

A touching insight into her persona was provided by the former Prime Minister, Mr. V. P. Singh, who said she had once even offered to donate a kidney to him. Having just come today from a dialysis session, Mr. Singh said Phoolan Devi had relinquished her past completely after she entered public life and got elected to Parliament.

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