When one speaks of 1857 revolt, the first names that strikes us are Jhansi Laxmi Bhai, Nanasaheb and at max Tantia Tope. But there  there were many opportunists as well as established local leaders, and numerous individuals took up arms on their own initiative without waiting for the Emperor's appeal, or for feudal aristocrats to tell them what to do. Devi Singh was perhaps the quitessential subaltern insurgent, acting entirely on his own without any contact with outsiders. He came from a Jat dominated region centred around the small rural town of Raya in Mathura district.

When zamindars and villagers in the locality heard of the King of Delhi's proclamation, they rose up against the moneylenders and attacked the town.