8. Phoolan Devi
Death: July 25, 2001
The dreaded dacoit of Chambal, Phoolan Devi had a meteoric rise in her career when she was elected member of Parliament on a Samajwadi Party ticket from Mirzapur, UP. Notorious for the Behmai massacre of 22 persons belonging to Thakur caste in 1981, she surrendered and was kept in jail for 11 years, after which the state government withdrew all cases lodged against her.
Belonging to the mallah (boatmen) caste and born at Ghura Ka Purwah of Jalaun district in UP, Phoolan Devi was booked under at least 48 heinous crimes. She was released before the completion of her sentence on the promise of good behavior and all the cases were withdrawn by Uttar Pradesh government in 1994.
She entered politics and became MP from Mirzapur. She was however murdered in cold blood in 2001 by Sher Singh Rana, Dheeraj Rana and Rajbir right outside her official house in New Delhi. All the three prime accused were later arrested. Nobody knows who was the main conspirator behind Phoolan's murder.