Video and Story by Chhavi Arora
IN SHORT:
- Gangster-turned-politician Anand Mohan walked out of Bihar’s Saharsa District Prison.
- This comes after the state government’s recent amendment of prison rules which allowed the early release of 27 convicts, including him.
- Mohan, a former MP, was convicted for the the murder of Dalit IAS officer G Krishnaiah in 1994.
- Singh's release is being seen as a move by the ruling JD(U) and the RJD to get upper-caste votes in Bihar.
- Bihar's Chief Secretary Amir Subhani said that the decision has been taken under the legal and administrative process & it should not be given a political angle.
- Alka Verma, Advocate and PIL petitioner, described this decision as arbitrary, unfair and not in public interest
Already on parole to attend the engagement ceremony of his MLA son Chetan Anand, gangster-turned-politician Anand Mohan Singh was released from jail in Bihar’s Saharsa early Thursday to “avoid traffic chaos and unnecessary media attention”.
In 2007, Mohan, 69, was convicted for the murder of the then Gopalganj district magistrate G Krishnaiah in 1994. He had been serving a life term in connection with “inciting a mob to kill Krishnaiah” during a protest march on December 5, 1994, in Muzaffarpur. The Patna High Court had commuted his sentence to life in 2008. On April 10 this year, the Bihar government amended its jail manual to allow remission to convicts who have completed 14 years as against the prior provision of 20 years. On April 24, the Bihar law department ordered his release.
