ROORKEE: Sher Singh Rana , convicted of murder of dacoit-turned politician Phoolan Devi , married in a closed ceremony attended by only a few relatives and friends at a hotel in Roorkee on Tuesday. Rana, 41, who is out on bail granted by the Delhi high court since October 2016, is said to have married 29-year-old Pratima Raje Bundela from Ghuwara in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur.Rana, who was convicted for Phoolan Devi’s sensational murder in 2001, continued to make headlines after he executed an escape from Delhi’s high-security Tihar Jail in 2004. After almost two years when he claimed to have travelled to Afghanistan to get back the relics of Hindu king Prithviraj Chauhan, Rana was arrested by the Special Cell of Delhi Police from Kolkata in 2006.Although family members remained tight-lipped about the wedding, sources said that the bride belongs to a political family of Madhya Pradesh. Her father, Rana Pratap Singh, is a known political face in Ghuwara (MP). As Sandhya Raje Bundela , Rana’s mother-in-law who was also present in wedding ceremony, has been involved in the activities of Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Mahasabha along with Rana, this opportunity provided Rana closeness with the Bundela family. Pratima is postgraduate in political science.“My son-in-law is a thorough gentleman. I believe he will keep my daughter always happy,” Sandhya Raje Bundela said.Rana, a resident of BT Ganj locality in Roorkee, is out on bail granted by the Delhi high court since October 2016. He was convicted by a sessions court in Delhi in 2014 of the sensational murder. The court had awarded him life imprisonment.On his wedding, Rana said, “Since I am against dowry, I have taken a single silver coin in the name of tradition for my wedding. Though my in-laws had offered me Rs 31 lakh cash and a large amount of gold jewellery, I politely declined it. In future, I will persuade youths of my community to shun dowry too.”

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