IAS Association requests Bihar govt to rethink release of Anand Mohan

The Central IAS Association on Tuesday expressed its "deep dismay" at the decision of the Bihar government to release Anand Mohan Singh, the convict of the brutal murder of then Gopalganj District Magistrate G. Krishnaiah by a change in the classification rules of prisoners.

In an statement, the New Delhi-based Association said that a convict of the charge of murder of a public servant on duty cannot be reclassified to less heinous category.

Amendment of an existing classification which led to release of convicted killer of a public servant on duty is tantamount to denial of justice, it said, contending that such dilution leads to impunity erosion in the morale of public servants, undermines public order, and makes a mockery of the administration of justice.

"We strongly request the state government of Bihar to reconsider its decision at the earliest," the statement said.

The Bihar government amended the law pertaining to prisoners and released 27 persons including Bahubali leader Anand Mohan Singh, who was undergoing life imprisonment in the murder of Krishnaiah on December 5, 1994.

Krishnaiah was returning from Patna after an official meeting and he reached Muzaffarpur at a time when supporters of underworld don Chotan Shukla were carrying his dead body to the cremation ground. They attacked his car and lynched him. Anand Mohan was part of the funeral process and police of Muzaffarpur charge-sheeted him for provoking the supporters for the lynching.

“Nitish Kumar is setting a horrible precedent by releasing a person convicted of murder. It will embolden criminals to attack government officials because they know they can easily get out of prison. For just a few Rajput votes, he has taken a decision that has so many consequences for the common people. The Rajput community should think over this – whether they want a criminal like Anand Mohan to represent them in politics,” said G Uma Krishnaiah, wife of IAS officer G Krishnaiah, while speaking to The Indian Express.

“I didn’t even know about it (the release); someone from the society told me and it broke my heart, took away my peace of mind,” she said. 

"This will only encourage goons and thugs to take the law into their own hands; that is why the mafia rules in Bihar. It was the same then, it is the same now,” she added.

With Agency Inputs