Bihar government tweaks rules to release former MP jailed for murder of bureaucrat

New Delhi (India), April 25, 2023: The Bihar government’s recent notification about the release of 27 prisoners, including former MP Anand Mohan Singh, has stirred up a massive opposition backlash. Singh was convicted in the 1994 murder of bureaucrat G Krishnaiah, who was then the Gopalganj District Magistrate.

A mob allegedly provoked by Singh killed him. In 2007, Singh was sentenced to death by a lower court in Bihar, which was later commuted to life imprisonment by the Patna High Court. The Supreme Court upheld the order in 2012.

Earlier this month, the Bihar government removed the clause that forbade the remission of jail terms for those convicted of murdering a public servant on duty. The state’s law department issued a notification stating that the new rules apply to prisoners who have served an actual sentence of 14 years or a sentence of 20 years with remission.

Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has criticized the change in rules as “anti-Dalit.” She asked the Nitish Kumar government to reconsider the decision, citing that Singh’s release would anger the Dalit community.

The ruling Janata Dal (United) hit back at the BJP with a “B-team in UP” jibe directed towards Mayawati. JDU leader Rajiv Ranjan Singh stated that the change in rules was aimed at bringing common and special prisoners together on a uniform platform.

The change in the Bihar prison manual is beneficial to Anand Mohan Singh, a Rajput leader with considerable influence over his caste voters.

Several politicians from the Rajput community have been demanding his early release for the last two years. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has also hinted on multiple occasions that he supports Singh.