New Delhi: The IAS Association Tuesday expressed “deep dismay” at the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government’s decision to release former MP Anand Mohan Singh, who was convicted for the 1994 murder of IAS officer G. Krishnaiah.
In a note shared on Twitter, the Indian Civil and Administrative Service (Central) Association, New Delhi, said that “a convict of a charge of murder of a public servant on duty cannot be reclassified to a less heinous crime”.
Referring to the change in Bihar prison rules that led to his release, it added that the amendment is “tantamount to denial of justice”. Such “dilution leads to impunity, erosion in morale of public servants, undermines public order and makes a mockery of administration of justice”, it said.
The Nitish Kumar government Monday issued orders for the release of Singh, who was serving a life sentence for his role in the killing of Krishnaiah, then the district magistrate (DM) of Gopalganj.
During the funeral procession for Bihar People’s Party (BPP) member Kaushlendra alias Chhotan Shukla, a mob lynched Krishnaiah while he was traveling to Gopalganj.
Singh was sentenced to death by a local court in October 2007 for “inciting” the mob to execute Krishnaiah, but the Patna High Court commuted the sentence to life imprisonment in December 2008.
His release was anticipated ever since the Bihar home department issued a notification on 10 April to tweak Rule 481(1)(a) of the Bihar Prison Manual 2012, which prohibited the early release (before serving 20 years) of a person convicted of murdering a public servant on duty, among other categories
Along with Singh, 26 others who have served at least 14 years of a life sentence for murder and other heinous crimes have been released in light of this amendment.
The order, issued by the state law department, was founded on the State Sentence Remission Council’s approval for their release.
Anand Mohan, who was formerly incarcerated in Saharsa jail, has been granted parole to attend a family ceremony.
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)