Telugu Dalit IAS officer G Krishnaiah murder case: Who is Anand Mohan Singh?

Here's how the murder convict of Telugu Dalit IAS officer G Krishnaiah got released after 14 years of the jail sentence

Hyderabad: The release of gangster-turned-politician Anand Mohan Singh from Bihar’s Saharsa jail in the wee hours on Thursday is creating ripples in the State. The ex-MP was convicted in the murder of Telugu Dalit IAS officer G Krishnaiah in Bihar.

His release comes amid massive backlash over the Nitish Kumar-led government’s decision to amend the rules of the jail manual facilitating the release of 27 convicts, including Anand Mohan.

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Who is Anand Mohan? 

Anand Mohan is a gangster-turned-politician who allegedly has close ties to Bihar’s political bigwigs. Belonging to the Rajput community, Mohan is a resident of Panchgachiya village in Saharsa.

Mohan’s political career began as a Janata Dal candidate in the 1990 elections when he got elected to the Bihar assembly from Hamshihi. Both Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav were in the Janata Dal then.  Lalu became the Chief Minister of Bihar for the first time during that election.

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav attended the engagement function of jailed Former MP Anand Mohan Singh’s son and RJD MLA Chetan Anand.

Earlier today, Bihar govt issued notification regarding the release of 27 prisoners including Former Lok Sabha MP Anand Mohan… pic.twitter.com/r7zHb5TSHn

— ANI (@ANI) April 24, 2023

In 1993, Mohan split from the Janata Dal and formed the Bihar People’s Party (BPP). Two years later, when Nitish too split ways with Lalu, Mohan joined hands with the Nitish Kumar-George Fernandes-led Samata Party and won the Lok Sabha elections from Sheohar in 1996.

Why was he sent to prison? 

In 1994, G Krishnaiah, Gopalganj District Magistrate and an IAS officer, was killed by a mob allegedly provoked by Mohan. The 35-year-old was dragged out of his official car and lynched by a mob comprising now-defunct BPP members. The civil servant was then passing a funeral procession of Chhotan Shukla, another gangster-turned-BPP leader, in Muzaffarpur.

Krishnaiah was a Telugu Dalit IAS officer who hailed from Mahbubnagar in present-day Telangana.

In 2007, 13 years after the incident, Mohan was sentenced to death by additional district judge RS Rai for inciting the mob. In 2008, the Patna High Court commuted the sentence to life imprisonment. In 2012, the Supreme Court upheld his life sentence.

How has he been released? 

On April 10 this year, the Bihar government amended Bihar Prison Manual, 2012, dropping the provision that barred anyone accused of the “murder of a public servant on duty” from premature release. This allows remission to convicts who have completed 14 years of the sentence.

On April 24, the Bihar law department ordered Mohan’s release, who was already out on parole for the wedding of his son Chetan Anand, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLA.

Anguish among public 

The Bihar government’s decision to tweak the rule evoked great anguish among the common people with many seeing the move by Nitish Kumar to woo Bihar’s upper caste votes.

As the decision was made, the slain IAS officer’s wife G Uma Krishnaiah reportedly requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and stop the release of Anand Mohan, who had instigated the bureaucrat’s lynching.

#WATCH | “I appeal to the President and the PM to intervene in this matter and ask CM Nitish Kumar to send him (Anand Moha) back to jail…,” says Uma Devi, wife of the then Gopalganj DM (Bihar), G Krishnaiah who was murdered by gangster-turned-politician Anand Mohan Singh in… pic.twitter.com/4KtZ8WGEEt

— ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2023

The Central IAS Association also conveyed objection over Mohan’s release. In a statement, they said that the decision is “tantamount to a denial of justice” and urged the State government to reconsider their actions.

Mohan, who was initially scheduled to exit prison at 7 am, reportedly walked out quietly at around 4.30 am on Thursday.