Bandit Queen’s mother, sister living in penury

In the Eighties, bandit queen Phoolan’s name spelt terror in the ravines and in the nineties, she wielded clout in politics.

But 15 years after her death, Phoolan Devi’s mother, Mola Devi, 87, is living in penury in Sheikhpur Ghuda village in Orai in Jalaun district.

Her land, measuring about four bighas, has been usurped by her nephew Mayadin who cultivates the land and does not give her a penny.

Mola Devi, on Monday, met the district magistrate Sandeep Kaur and related her tale of woe.

According to Ms Devi, the benefits that she was receiving under various government schemes, including the Samajwadi Pension Scheme, have been stopped for no apparent reason. “The last time I lodged a complaint with the officials, Mayadin beat me up and also my daughter,” she told reporters.

Ms Devi’s two sons, Shiv Narain and Sunder, have abandoned her and live in Gwalior while Phoolan’s mother now lives with her younger daughter in Orai. The two women work as labourers in fields but the drought conditions in Bundelkhand region have also taken away their livelihood.

“For a few years after Phoolan’s death, the sons used to send me money but after that they stopped doing so and now I have no contact with them,” she said.

Recalling happier days, Ms Devi said that when Phoolan was alive, the family never had any shortage of money and food. “Just one call was enough to take care of all our needs but since a year after she died, we have been struggling for survival. My daughter was an MP from the Samajwadi Party but the local party leaders refuse to help us,” she said.