Bandit Queen murder suspect 'may have been in jail at the time'

Indian police are investigating whether the prime suspect in the murder of 'Bandit Queen' Phoolan Devi may have been in jail at the time.

Officials have discovered a man also called Sher Singh Rana was in Hardiwar jail when Phoolan was gunned down outside her home.

Officers from New Dehli are trying to establish whether they are the same man or if it is only a coincidence.

The suggestion was made by the director general of Uttaranchal state police, Ashok Kant Saran, to Delhi police commissioner Ajay Raj Sharma.

Dehli police have sent a team to Hardiwar city to check the details of the inmate more closely.

He is said to have served a sentence from July 18 to July 26 in connection with a case involving illicit alcohol trade.

Phoolan was murdered on July 25.