Amid a row over Bihar government's prison rule change, ganster-turned-politician and former MP Anand Mohan Singh was released from Saharsa jail on Thursday. The tweak in Bihar prison rules paved the early release of Singh, who was serving a life term for his role in the 1994 murder of the then Gopalganj collector G Krishnaiah.
The Nitish Kumar-led government, in an order on April 10, dropped "murder of a public servant on duty" as one of the eligibilities in which an accused would not be eligible for premature release.
The move has led to the Bihar government facing severe backlash from the BJP, the late IAS officer's wife and the Indian Civil and Administrative Service (Central) Association. A section of politicians have also termed the move by Nitish Kumar a tact to garner Rajput votes ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
So, Who Is Anand Mohan Singh?
Born in Panchgachiya village in Saharsa, Anand Mohan is the grandson of freedom fighter Ram Bahadur Singh Tomar. His first brush with politics was when he was made the Janata Dal candidate in the 1990 election and won from the Hamhishi seat. At that time, both Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav were with the Janata Dal and the later went on to become the Chief Minister of Bihar for the first time.
However, soon differences began to crop up between Anand Mohan, who belonged to the upper caste Rajput community, and Lalu Prasad Yadav, who began to be seen a champion of the oppressed. In 1993, Anand Mohan formed the Bihar People's Party (BPP). His aggressive speeches drew thousands of people to his rallies.
In 1994, Anand Mohan's wife Lovely contested the bypoll from Vaishali as a BPP candidate and won.
Two years later, Anand Mohan won the Sheohar seat in the Lok Sabha election and formed an alliance with the NDA. However, he soon switched sides to the Congress-led UPA.
Anand Mohan has a son Chetan Anand, who is a sitting MLA of the ruling RJD in the state.
What Is The G Krishnaiah Murder Case?
Back in 1994, a mob was holding an agitation with the body of Chhotan Shukla, a gangster-politician from Muzaffarpur of Anand Mohan's BPP party. Shukla was killed on December 4 when his vehicle was fired upon by unidentified assailants at Bhagwanpur Chowk in Muzaffarpur. An Indian Express report said a policeman was also involved in the shooting.
As news spread of a policeman being involved in Chhotan's murder, his supporters went on a rampage in the town, vandalising vehicles. The next day, a large crowd marched in protest with Chhotan's body from Muzaffarpur to his paternal village of Khanjahachak in Lalganj, Vaishali.
Anand Mohan also joined the protests and gave a fiery speech to the crowd. At that time, G Krishnaiah, the Gopalganj district magistrate, was returning to Gopalganj from Hajipur in a white ambassador.
G Krishnaiah, a 1985-batch IAS officer, hailed from Mahbubnagar in present-day Telangana.
The sight of a government vehicle with a red beacon infuriated the crowd and they gheraod Krishnaiah near Khabra village. Soon, they started pelting stones at his car.
Amid the melee, Chhotan's brother Bhutkun Shukla, also a gangster, allegedly shot at Krishnaiah and later handed him over to the mob. The mob thrashed Krishnaiah and lynched him.
Krishnaiah was rushed to hospital by police but it was too later and the IAS officer succumbed to his injuries within an hour of the incident.
It was alleged that Anand Mohan instigated the mob to lynch the IAS officer. Singh was sentenced to death by a lower court in 2007, but the Patna High Court later commuted the penalty to life imprisonment.