Call it quirk of fate that Sher Singh Rana who had admitted to the killing of bandit-turned politician Phoolan Devi at a Press conference 13 years ago, had to plead for leniency before a city court on Tuesday.
Faced with death sentence or life-term, Rana, the lone convict in the 2001 sensational killing of Phoolan Devi, sought court’s mercy on family grounds. “You (judge) are sitting in the chair of God and what you say here comes directly from God’s mouth,” Rana pleaded before Additional Sessions Judge Bharat Parashar adding, “You (judge) have pardoned the prosecution in this case, so please pardon me also.”
Rana, 35, has been convicted under Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 34 (common intention) of IPC for murdering Phoolan at her residence on July 25, 2001. Two days later on July 27, he had admitted that he had killed Phoolan. The court has reserved its order on quantum of sentence for August 14.
Rana also told the judge that he wants to do something good for society. After the court asked Rana about his family, he told the court that he is unmarried but he has the responsibility of looking after his ailing mother. At the fag end of the hearing, a tense-looking Rana tried to strike a lighter note with the judge saying although the court has held him guilty in the case; it should now write such an order on sentence that he could get acquittal from the higher court soon. “I know no judge wants his order to be reversed by the higher courts... I request you to write such a judgement that gets me an acquittal soon,” he said in the jam-packed courtroom.
Rana said that before 2001, he was never arrested and only a case under the Excise Act was lodged against him but he was acquitted in that case. “On July 27, 2001, I was arrested after which four-five false cases were lodged against me by the police. In some of these cases, the police later on told the concerned courts that I was not involved in the crime,” he said, adding, “In these 13 years (since his arrest in 2001), nobody can say I have done anything wrong.”