Patna: The decision to release former member of parliament (MP) Anand Mohan from prison has landed the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar in a soup, with opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and ally Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation (CPI-ML) drawing up their own lists of those they feel should receive similar relief.
Anand Mohan had been serving a life term after being convicted of involvement in the 1994 murder of IAS officer G. Krishnaiah. Krishnaiah, then the district magistrate (DM) of Gopalganj in Bihar, was lynched by a mob near the state’s Muzaffarpur district, during the funeral procession of ‘gangster’ Chhotan Shukla. He was convicted for “instigating” the crowd to lynch Krishnaiah.
While he had been handed a death sentence by a local court in October 2007, the sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment by the Patna High Court in 2008. The Supreme Court later upheld the Patna HC sentence.
But the Bihar government Monday ordered the release of Anand Mohan and 26 other prisoners, after issuing a notification earlier in the month to drop Rule 481(1)(a) of the Bihar Prison Manual 2012, which forbade the early release of one convicted of the murder of a public servant on duty.
Talks of Anand Mohan’s release had been doing the rounds ever since CM Nitish Kumar ended his party’s (Janata Dal-United) alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Front (NDA) and joined hands with the RJD, Congress and others to form government in Bihar.
Anand Mohan’s son Chetan Anand is an RJD MLA, while his wife, former MP Lovely Anand, is also a RJD leader.
While Monday’s release order, issued by law department secretary Ramesh Chand Malviya, clarified that only prisoners whose names have been recommended by a screening committee and who have spent 20 years or more in jail, were being released, as even the life imprisonment term is of 14 years, the CPI (ML) has termed it a “selective release”, lacking in transparency.
On Wednesday, the CPI (ML), the largest left group in the ruling Bihar alliance with 12 MLAs in assembly, declared its legislators would stage a dharna to demand the release of six of its supporters serving a life imprisonment sentence under the now-defunct Terrorist and Disruptive (Prevention) Act (TADA) and who, the party claimed, have been behind bars for the past 22 years.
The CPI (ML) is also backing BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi’s demand for the release of “about 25,000 prisoners” currently in jail under the state’s stringent prohibition law.
Meanwhile, BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudi, while welcoming Anand Mohan’s release, has demanded the release of another former MP, Prabhunath Singh, convicted in a murder case. Rudi has accused former CM Lalu Prasad Yadav and CM Nitish Kumar of framing both Mohan and Prabhunath.
“Our question to the government is that if inmates who have been in jail for 14 or 15 years can be released, why can’t those who have been in jail for more than 22 years?” CPI(ML) state secretary Kunal (who only goes by his first name) remarked while talking to ThePrint Wednesday.
The release of Anand Mohan and the 26 others is also being seen by many as an attempt at playing vote bank politics by the Nitish Kumar government, to reach out to the “Muslim Yadav” and “Rajput” communities, to which the 27 predominantly belong.
Speaking to ThePrint, JD(U) national spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan said that the prison manual was changed to bring “uniformity” in the early release of prisoners serving long sentences. “If there are other cases which are fit for release, the state jail department will look into it,” he added.
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Demand for release
The six supporters the CPI(ML) wants released were convicted following a clash between party supporters and the police in a village in Arwal district in 1988. A police sub-inspector had been killed in the violence and charges against 14 party supporters were framed under TADA.
In 2003 they were all awarded life imprisonment under TADA, even though TADA was withdrawn in 1995.
“Despite the fact TADA was repealed the state government continued the trial under the draconian provisions. Today, six of the convicted men have died in jail, one convicted has been absconding. One was released from jail after an order from Patna high court. The remaining six all are old and weak,” said Kunal, adding that party MLAs had raised the issue in assembly, but no action was taken.
Meanwhile, Rudi, has welcomed the release of Anand Mohan, alleging he had been framed by Lalu and Nitish, and demanded Prabhunath Singh’s release in a similar manner. “He was also framed by Lalu and Nitish,” said Rudi alleged, while talking to the media Wednesday.
Prabhunath Singh was convicted for the murder of sitting MLA Ashok Singh in Patna in 1995. He was awarded life imprisonment by a court in Hazaribagh in 2017. In the 22 years between the MLA’s death and the sentencing, Prabhunath was thrice elected Lok Sabha MP from the Maharajganj seat.
A former JD(U) member, he later switched sides to join Lalu Prasad’s RJD. Prabhunath Singh’s son Randhir Singh and brother Kedar Singh are still politically active in the Saran region, the seat represented by Rudi in Parliament.
Talking about Rudi’s demand, a BJP MLA told ThePrint on condition of anonymity that the MP was “trying to pacify the supporters of Prabhunath Singh in view of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls”.
The release of Anand Mohan and the 26 others has also helped BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi find support for his demand to release those jailed under the state’s liquor prohibition law.
According to Modi 5.17 lakh people have been arrested and jailed in Bihar since the law banning the sale and consumption of alcohol was enforced in the state in 2016. About 25,000 are currently in jail.
“They are not hardcore criminals and 90 per cent of them belong to the weaker sections of the society”, Modi said.
Following Anand Mohan’s release, the CPI(ML) has come out in support of Modi’s demand.
Talking about those jailed under the prohibition law, Kunal told ThePrint, “Why are they being treated as hardcore criminals? The violators of anti-liquor laws are at most addicts and should be treated for it and not sent to jail”.
The basis on which the 27 prisoners were chosen for release is also being questioned by those from outside the political sphere.
“It amounts to the end of justice and rule of law. On what basis can Nitish Kumar ignore the demands of other hardcore convicts for their release? How is this case different from what happened in Gujarat when rape accused were released [a reference to the release of those convicted in the Bilkis Bano case]?” asked N. K. Choudhary, a former professor of Patna University.
He added: “Those in jail for liquor law violations should be released. They have committed small-time crimes. The state is releasing men who have committed heinous crimes. The Supreme Court should intervene and become the voice of the victims.”
Caste angle
The Nitish Kumar government has also been accused of playing vote bank politics in the choice of the 27 who were released.
“13 of the 27 released belong to the Muslim Yadav support group of RJD. In the name of releasing Anand Mohan hardcore criminals have been released for intimidating voters,” alleged Modi.
He also claimed that the Bihar government’s anti-dalit face had been exposed by this decision.
Dalit leaders from outside the state, including Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP leader) Mayawati had earlier opposed Anand Mohan’s release and slammed the Nitish Kumar government for being “anti-Dalit”. Krishnaiah was Dalit.
It is believed in Bihar’s political circles that the move to release Singh is an attempt by the Nitish Kumar government to woo Rajput voters, who reportedly constitute about four per cent of voters in the state. Singh is Rajput.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
Also read: Anand Mohan’s release shows criminals still call the shots in Bihar, just as centuries ago