Three Suspects Arrested in Murder of 'Bandit Queen'Three suspects in the killing of Phoolan Devi, the outlaw-turned-lawmaker known as India's Bandit Queen, surrendered to authorities on Monday.The three men, identified only by their first names, Shekhar, Rajvir and Ravinder, turned themselves in to a judge in Saharanpur, 120 miles northeast of New Delhi, police said. Devi, 38, celebrated in her youth as a horseback-riding heroine who roamed the countryside with a red bandanna tied around her head and a rifle slung across her back, was shot to death Wednesday outside her New Delhi home. She had been a legislator since 1996. Her alleged killer, Sher Singh Rana, was arrested two days later. Police said he confessed to killing Devi to avenge a massacre of 22 upper caste men two decades ago. Police said Rana told them he and Ravinder pumped six bullets into Devi as she got out of a car, then were driven away by Shekhar and Rajvir. According to legend, Devi ¡ª the daughter of a low-caste family in Uttar Pradesh ¡ª was sold into marriage at age 11. She fled her brutal husband and fell in love with a highway robber. It is said that her lover was killed by upper caste men from the village of Behmai who took her prisoner and raped her repeatedly. She escaped, formed her own gang, and in 1981 returned to the village for revenge. She was jailed in 1983, but the Supreme Court freed her 11 years later. After her release, Devi entered politics, joining the regional Samajwadi Party, which has a strong presence in north India. She was elected to Parliament in 1996. |
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