New Delhi, July 29
Despite extensive raids in several cities of Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh during the past couple of days, the police has been unable to trace the other three suspects wanted in connection with the sensational slaying of Samajwadi Party MP and former bandit queen, Phoolan Devi.

The suspects, identified as Ravinder, a distant cousin of the surrendered suspect, Pankaj, alias Sher Singh Rana, Rajbir and Shekhar, had disappeared soon after the daylight murder on July 25. While Pankaj had surrendered before the police in Dehra Dun, the others managed to evade the police dragnet.

The police said the description of the suspects had been flashed to all police stations in the neighbouring states even as a team of crime branch officials continued to interrogate Pankaj who was remanded in police custody yesterday.

While the police was reluctant to reveal the details of the interrogation, sources said Pankaj continued to adhere to his earlier claims that he had committed the murder to avenge the Behmai massacre of the Takhurs.

The police also took Pankaj to several places, including Ghaziabad, to help recover the murder weapon and some other items which could provide clinching evidence to the murder.

Meanwhile, Pankaj was hospitalised today after he complained of uneasiness while in police custody.

Pankaj was taken to Safdarjung Hospital for medical check-up as his blood pressure was found to be higher than normal, perhaps due to tension, police sources said.

They said he was now stable and his discharge from the hospital depended on doctors’ certification.

A senior Delhi police officer said they were still not very clear about the motive and were carrying on the investigations with an “open mind”. Nothing was being ruled out, including a well-hatched conspiracy. He claimed that a large number of acquaintances of the former bandit queen, including politicians and relatives, were being questioned.

The detectives have drawn up a detailed list of visitors to her Ashoka Road residence during the past few days prior to her murder. The detectives were also verifying her visits in the week before the incident. A team of crime branch detectives also questioned Umed Singh, husband of Phoolan Devi, for over an hour at the Ashoka Road residence. This is the first time that Umed Singh has been questioned as he was earlier busy with the cremation, the police said.

Crime branch sources said Umed Singh was questioned about his relations with the late Samajwadi Party MP and his alleged association with Pankaj, Uma Kashyap and Vijay Kumar. Uma Kashyap and Vijay also continued to be questioned.

Investigations so far have revealed that Pankaj had a flamboyant personality and always wanted to hog the limelight. A number of his associates questioned by the police claimed that he always wanted to do something sensational which would create headlines. He also nursed an ambition of joining politics and ultimately become a Member of Parliament.

It was precisely for this reason that he started cultivating Uma Kashyap and Vijay Kumar since he considered them close to Phoolan Devi as they were involved in the work of the Eklavya Sena.