Kriti MehrotraNetflix’s ‘Indian Predator: The Diary of a Serial Killer’ is a documentary series that explores the baffling tale of Ram Niranjan (better known by his alias Raja Kolander) from every conceivable angle. It thus charts not only all the criminal events leading up to his ultimate capture for the 2000 disappearance and murder case of a journalist but also his personal beliefs as well as experiences. So, of course, there was a significant (yet indirect) focus on his wife Phoolan Devi as well — and now, if you wish to learn more about her in particular, we’ve got the essential details for you.
Who is Phoolan Devi?
As residents of Chheoki in Allahabad (Prayagraj), Uttar Pradesh, back in 2000, Phoolan was a proudly elected member of the district council, while her husband served as a government clerk. She was actually born Gomti Devi, but Raja decided to name her after the bandit turned female rights activist turned politician before making her contest in the elections, as per the Netflix original. He’d hoped the mother of his children — Adalat (meaning court), Zamanat (meaning bail), and Andolan (meaning protest) — would become as famous as her namesake, yet it didn’t really work out.
That’s because the tragic case of journalist Dhirendra Singh soon came to light, implicating the couple as well as Phoolan’s brother Vakshraj Kol through a mere phone call, according to reports. The former had vanished on December 14, 2000, but their Chheoki home landline number had been dialed from his personal device two days later, the 16th, making it clear something was awry. The investigators hence made their way to question Phoolan, driving her to reveal “the truth” regarding her husband and his activities — it was also apparently he who’d called her using Dhirendra’s phone.
Phoolan Devi is Serving a Life Term
While the exact charges placed against Phoolan remain unclear, we do know she was apprehended alongside her closest family members around December 18 for her role in the atrocious offense. Therefore, like Raja, she’s currently serving a life sentence in a district prison, indicating she could’ve been found guilty of either murder, conspiracy, or aiding & abetting since she likely knew of her husband’s tendencies yet never reported him.
We should mention Raja had initially claimed an affair between Dhirendra and Phoolan as his motive for the slaying, but ‘Indian Predator’ paints this assertion as a complete lie. In fact, it was purportedly his innate need not to have his criminal endeavors be exposed to the public that drove him to kill the journalist before slashing off not just his head but also his genitals.
Read More: Where is Raja Kolander’s Brother-in-Law Vakshraj Kol Now?
