Lucknow: A case has been registered against a self-proclaimed Rajput leader accused of assassinating "bandit queen" Phoolan Devi in connection with the death of a Dalit in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday.

Sachin Walia, a Dalit leader, was found dead with a bullet wound in his stomach hours after Sher Singh Rana, out no bail in the Phoolan Devi murder case, had allegedly delivered a provocative speech in Saharanpur during the birth anniversary celebrations of Maharana Pratap, the Rajpur king of Mewar.

The police have registered a case against Rana and three of his aides for allegedly delivering the inflammatory speech and also conspiring to kill Sachin - younger brother of Kamal Walia, the district president of Dalit outfit Bhim Army.

The spot where Sachin was found dead was 400 metres from the place where Maharana Pratap's birth anniversary was celebrated.

Rana, accused of assassinating bandit-turned-parliamentarian Phoolan Devi in Delhi in 2001, had been sentenced to life imprisonment by a local court in 2014. He was granted bail in 2017 as the case is pending in Delhi High Court.

After the murder of Phoolan Devi, Rana had fled to Dehradun from Delhi and told reporters that he had taken revenge for the killing of 22 Thakurs (Rajputs) in Kanpur's Behmai by the bandit and her gang in 1981. In court, however, he denied having killed Phoolan Devi.

Phoolan Devi had claimed after her surrender in 1983 that she killed the Thakurs for inflicting atrocities on her and forcing her to become a bandit.

Rana, who lives in Roorkee, Uttarakhand, married a woman from an affluent Rajput family of Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh, in February this year.

A self-proclaimed leader of the Rajputs, Rana had been invited to attend Maharana Pratap's birth anniversary celebrations in Saharanpur.

Kanti Walia, Sachin's mother, has stated in her police complaint that Rana had provoked Rajputs "to attack Dalits and take revenge for the incidents (clashes) of last year".

Bablu Kumar, senior superintendent of police, said: "The FIR was registered on the basis of the complaint of the mother of the deceased. We are investigating the case."

DIG Sharad Sachan said: "The police have not found any evidence so far to suggest that someone shot Sachin. It was a mysterious death that needs thorough investigation."