Patna: December 5, 1994, is a date that still sends shivers down Deepak Kumar’s spine. The eyewitness and driver of the then-district magistrate G Krishnaiah, Deepak was driving his boss from Hajipur to Gopalganj when a procession surrounded them near Zero Mile in Muzaffarpur.
Led by mafia don Anand Mohan Singh, the aggressive mob pulled the officer’s bodyguard out of their official white Hindustan Ambassador car and started hitting it with stones and sticks.
A frightened Deepak managed to extricate the vehicle from the angry throng, but Krishnaiah – an upright and honest Dalit IAS officer – made an “error” that was to claim his life.
He demanded that Deepak stop the car to fetch the bodyguard. Deepak knew that risks were high, and he refused. But when Krishnaiah insisted, Deepak was left with no option but to oblige. As the car came to a halt, the angry mob – provoked by Anand Mohan, then a dreaded mafia –descended upon them again. They pounced on the driver, grabbing him by the neck. He somehow got rid of his catchers and fled to safety.
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They then dragged out DM Krishnaiah out of his car, pelted stones at him, and then shot him dead from point blank for allegedly not taking “timely action” into the murder of Anand Mohan’s close associate.
“When I came back after some time. I saw his body thrown into a well. Soon I saw a police vehicle passing by and stopped it to help,” Deepak narrates as his eyes well up.
He was rushed to a hospital where the officer succumbed to his injuries.
The gruesome incident has become a hot topic throughout India since the Nitish Kumar government ordered the release of Anand Mohan, who was found guilty of IAS officer Krishnaiya’s murder. He was sentenced to death, which was later commuted to life imprisonment by the Patna High Court.
However, the Nitish Kumar government recently amended rules to drop the “murder of civil servant on duty” clause for cases which could not be considered for remission, sparking widespread outrage.
Krishnaiah’s widow, T Uma Devi, is furious with CM Nitish Kumar for letting Anand Mohan go free. She has accused him of releasing the murderer for political gain, hoping to win votes from the Rajput community. The Indian Civil and Administrative Service (Central) Association has also condemned the move, calling it a mockery of justice that would lead to impunity and undermine public order.
For Deepak, the events of that fateful day in 1994 are etched in his memories. He says Anand Mohan’s release has only deepened his pain.