Patna: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has come under fire for releasing don-turned-politician Anand Mohan Singh, who is serving life sentence for killing a Dalit IAS officer in 1994, with the officer’s widow slamming the JDU leader for his greed for Rajput votes.
G Krishnaiah, the then district magistrate of Bihar’s Gopalganj, was dragged from his vehicle, stoned and then shot dead by a mob led by Anand Mohan on December 5, 1994 for not taking “timely action” into the murder of one of his close associates.
Krishnaiah’s wife, T Uma Devi, has slammed CM Nitish Kumar – who has been given sobriquet ‘Sushasan Babu’ – for amending remission rules to release Anand Mohan for “political gains”.
“It is wrong. CM Nitish Kumar is releasing him ahead of elections because he hopes to get votes of the Rajput community with this move,” she said, describing Kumar’s photos with Anand Mohan at the ring ceremony of the latter’s daughter as “disturbing”.
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Former Uttar Pradesh police chief and BJP’s Rajya Sabha Brij Lal also condemned the Mahagathbandhan government’s decision to release the dreaded criminal.
“Anand Mohan opposed the Mandal Commission (which recommended quota for OBCs). He formed a party with the stated mission to teach a lesson to leaders leading the uprising of Dalits and the backward communities,” said the former DGP.
He also said that Dalit community across the country would “never forgive” Nitish Kumar for his anti-Dalit move.
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On Tuesday, the Indian Civil and Administrative Service (Central) Association, in a statement, condemned the move and requested the state government to reconsider its decision. The association called the move as “a mockery of justice”, which would lead to impunity, erosion of the morale of public servants, and undermine public order.
Anand Mohan was awarded a death sentence in 2007, which was later commuted to life imprisonment by the Patna High Court in 2008.
To release him, the Nitish Kumar government dropped the “murder of a public servant on duty” clause from the list of cases for which remission of jail term cannot be considered.
His release is scheduled for Thursday, April 27.