New Delhi, Mar 29: In a major breakthrough in the dramatic escape of Phoolan Devi murder case main accused from the Tihar jail, the Delhi Police has arrested two people, including the person who posed as a policeman to facilitate his escape, on charges of helping Sher Singh Rana escape from the high-security jail on February 17. Besides Roorkee-based Sandeep Thakur, police arrested Sher Singh`s brother Vikram Singh Rana for being involved in the conspiracy. Additional Commissioner of Police Karnal Singh said Vikram was arrested following disclosures made by sandeep after his arrest from a village in Meerut district in Uttar Pradesh last evening. The conspiracy was hatched at Haridwar in November last year when Sher Singh had been taken from the Tihar jail for being produced before a local court in connection with another case. Sher Singh and Vikram allegedly motivated Sandeep on the basis of primodial ties and even promised to pay Rs 6 lakh and a Maruti car if they succeeded. Thereafter, Sandeep met Sher Singh in Tihar jail seven times under fictitious names and identity. He met him as an advocate in the name of Pradeep Kumar four times, including a day before his escape. He got a police uniform stitched at Roorkee and purchased handcuffs from Aligarh. On February 17, he came to ISBT here from Ghaziabad in police uniform and took a three-wheeler to Tihar jail where he posed as constable Arvind Kumar and said that he had come to take custody of Sher Singh for taking him to Haridwar. After Sher Singh was handed over, the duo came back to the ISBT and took a bus to Ghaziabad where Sandeep parted ways after handing over Rs 10,000 to the accused. Thereafter, Sandeep took Rs 100,000 from Vikram and delivered it to Sher Singh in a town in western Uttar Pradesh. Police said the accused were being further interrogated to find involvement of other persons in the conspiracy to rescue Sher Singh who, along with another, had allegedly gunned down dacoit-turned -parliamentarian Phoolan Devi in front of her official residence at 1315 hrs on July 25, 2001. He later surrendered before the Uttaranchal police at Dehradun on July 28, 2001 and confessed before the media that he had murdered the then MP Phoolan to avenge the Behmai massacre of Thakurs.
Bureau Report