Phoolan murder:Court to pronounce quantum of sentence on Aug14

A Delhi court today fixed August 14 for pronouncing the quantum of sentence against Sher Singh Rana for the murder of bandit-turned-politician Phoolan Devi here in 2001 with the prosecution seeking death penalty for him.
Additional Sessions Judge Bharat Parashar reserved the judgement after hearing the arguments on quantum of sentence during which the prosecution contended that Rana had committed Phoolan's murder in a pre-planned and meticulous manner.
The prosecution said that Rana should be given death penalty for the heinous crime as a person like him is a threat to the society.
"It is an offence of murder which was committed in a pre-planned manner and was meticulously executed by him (Rana). Keeping in view the impact on the society...I request the court to award death penalty," the prosecution said.

The counsel appearing for Rana, however, opposed the contentions of the prosecution saying that the police has miserably failed to prove the motive behind the murder.
Countering the claims of the police regarding Rana's criminal antecedents, the defence counsel said that he has been acquitted in other cases and even the eyewitnesses in the case have been disbelieved by this court.

"More than one persons were involved in this case but the court has acquitted them," he said, adding that considering the age of the convict, the court should award the lesser sentence to him.
After the arguments concluded, Rana submitted before the court that his image has been tarnished by the police by lodging "false cases" against him.

"In these 13 years (since his arrest in 2001), nobody can say that I have done anything wrong," he said.
As soon as he started advancing submissions as to why he had escaped from Tihar jail in 2004, the court said it has nothing to do with it.
"I have nothing to do with it. You have been held guilty and you will get either death penalty or life imprisonment," the judge said.