‘Bandit Queen’ Will Face Murder Charges

An Indian legislator known as the Bandit Queen said Friday that she will surrender for trial in connection with the murders of 20 men.

Phoolan Devi told the Supreme Court she would give up after the court turned down her appeal to transfer 54 cases of murder, robbery, extortion and kidnapping to another state in order to receive a fair trial, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

Devi, 36, is accused of massacring 20 villagers in Behmai, where she had been held prisoner and repeatedly raped by men of a higher caste, or social class. Devi was released on bail in 1994.