Police suspect Rana's clothes were burnt

new delhi: the police suspect the prime accused in the phoolan murder case, sher singh rana, destroyed the clothes he was wearing at the time of the killing on july 25. if the clothes are found, especially if they bear bloodstains, the police case against rana would be strengthened. however, almost a fortnight after the crime the clothes are yet to be recovered.despite conducting checks on the basis of rana's disclosures, the police have not been able to lay their hands on the clothes. this failure has fuelled suspicions that he may have burnt them. ``considering that he appears to have been briefed by advocates on the destruction of evidence after the crime, there is every possibility that he may have destroyed the clothes,'' said an investigator. on july 25, rana is alleged to have been wearing a pair of blue jeans and it was on this basis that he was identified as the prime accused. two witnesses, one each at the mp's bungalow and on a road, had told the police that one of the three assailants was wearing blue jeans. investigators suspect rana's accomplice, dhanprakash alias vicky, may have also destroyed the clothes he was wearing at the time. rana's attempt to create a fake alibi showing his presence in a jail at the time of the incident and his move to dump the weapons of offence near the murder spot seemed to have been backed by legal advice. now the non-recovery of his clothes also appears to be part of the same brief, said the police. the police have already identified two lawyers whom rana may have contacted before plotting the murder. one of them, praveen mittal, has already been questioned by the police. he is suspected to have sold a revolver to rana. despite little success in making recoveries on the basis of the accused's disclosures, the delhi police have not given up hope completely. on wednesday, rana and his accomplices were taken to hardwar and other areas which they allegedly visited after the incident. ``the intention behind the exercise is to corroborate the accused's version on their escape route after the murder,'' said an investigator. the police have so far arrested eight persons in the case. two more persons, arrested in uttaranchal on wednesday, are likely to be handed over to the delhi police soon. sources said rana's employee, shraven, who had served as his ``proxy'' in hardwar jail while he was in delhi for the murder was also likely to fall into the police net. meanwhile, phoolan's pso balinder singh, a key witness in the murder case, underwent another operation. ram manohar lohia hospital medical superintendent dr c p singh told the times of india on wednesday evening, ``balinder is recovering to our satisfaction. he is still admitted in the new nursing home and we cannot say when he will be discharged.''