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Sunil Jha
Uttaranchal police on Thursday laid to rest all speculation about prime suspect Sher Singh Rana's involvement in the killing of Phoolan Devi, saying investigations had revealed that while he was committing the crime in the capital on July 25, a different person using his name was lodged in the Hardwar Jail.
Uttaranchal Director General of Police Ashok Kant Saran said the Central Investigation Department, which was asked to probe reports about Rana alias Pankaj's presence in Hardwar Jail on July 25, had confirmed that it was not Rana, but Shravan, a worker in his liquor shop, who had been lodged in jail.
The Uttaranchal and Delhi police are now on the look out for Shravan, a resident of Jehanabad district of Bihar, who has been missing since his release on bail on July 26.
Saran said the CID had been directed to probe the possible involvement of any policemen, jail officials, court officials and lawyers in the well-conceived conspiracy.
"It is now proved beyond doubt that this was done as part of a conspiracy to prepare the defence for Pankaj during the trial stage and we are now working to reach to the bottom of the conspiracy," Saran said.
A sensation was created on Wednesday following reports that Rana, in the custody of Delhi Police after confessing to the crime, had been in Hardwar jail between July 18 and July 26.
After going through the records, the Uttaranchal police confirmed that a man using Rana's name had been lodged in the jail on the day of the killing.
Asked why Pankaj had confessed to the killing after his arrest on July 27 in Dehradun, when he could have given an alibi, the police chief explained that the conspiracy had been hatched to spoil the prosecution's case during the trial stage.
"During the trial stage, Pankaj could have claimed that police were framing him as he was nowhere near the place of crime and was lodged in the Hardwar Jail. Then, it would have been difficult for us to prove that somebody else stayed in his place," he said.
UNI
Phoolan Devi Murder: Complete Coverage
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