Phoolan's kin come to blows

NEW DELHI, AUG. 6. Just hours after a show of rapprochement, supporters of Phoolan Devi's blood relatives and those of her husband, Mr. Umed Singh, came to blows over her 13th day rituals today forcing police intervention to defuse the tension.

The acrimony was witnessed only a few hours after the two sides showed some signs of rapprochement due to the efforts of the Samajwadi Party general secretary, Mr. Amar Singh.

Trouble arose when Phoolan's sister, Ms. Munni Devi, and her mother, Ms. Mula Devi, opposed the tying of the pagri (turban) on Mr. Umed Singh, on the ground that the custom was not followed by their community. With both sides sticking to their stands, tempers rose and jostling and heckling ensued. The two sides almost came to blows before the police, intervened and brought the situation under control.

``We had made appropriate arrangements and deployed enough securitymen,'' the Deputy Commissioner of police, New Delhi, Mr. R.S. Krishna, said.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Amar Singh brought about an apparent show of unity between Mr. Umed Singh and Phoolan's relatives by presenting them at a press conference with her younger sister, Ms. Munni Devi, retracting her allegation that Mr. Umed Singh had a hand in Phoolan's death.

With eight accused already arrested in the murder case, police are now hunting for two more persons, who are believed to have helped the main conspirators.

A hunt is on for Shravan, an employee of the prime accused, Sher Singh Rana, who is believed to have gone to a Haridwar jail impersonating his boss to help him create an alibi, and a resident of Muzaffarnagar who is alleged to have provided two revolvers used by the assailants. Rana, who had been out of jail on bail in an excise case, had got his bail cancelled on July 14 and allegedly sent Shravan to prison till July 26 in his place to allow him create an alibi even after killing Phoolan on July 25. ``He wanted to show in court that he was in jail when the crime was committed,'' a police officer said.

- PTI

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