The Central IAS Association on Tuesday expressed its "deep dismay" at the decision of Bihar government to release Anand Mohan Singh, the convict of the brutal murder of then Gopalganj District Magistrate G. Krishnaiah by a change in the classification rules of prisoners.
In an statement, the New Delhi-based Association said that a convict of the charge of murder of a public servant on duty cannot be reclassified to less heinous category.
Amendment of an existing classification which led to release of convicted killer of a public servant on duty is tantamount to denial of justice, it said, contending that such dilution leads to impunity erosion in the morale of public servants, undermines public order, and makes a mockery of the administration of justice.
"We strongly request the state government of Bihar to reconsider its decision at the earliest," the statement said.
The Bihar government amended the law pertaining to prisoners and released 27 persons including Bahubali leader Anand Mohan Singh, who was undergoing life imprisonment in the murder of Krishnaiah on December 5, 1994.
Also Read | Amit Shah plays down pre-poll surveys, says BJP will win Karnataka polls
Krishnaiah was returning from Patna after an official meeting and he reached Muzaffarpur at a time when supporters of underworld don Chotan Shukla were carrying his dead body to the cremation ground. They attacked his car and lynched him. Anand Mohan was part of the funeral process and police of Muzaffarpur charge sheeted him for provoking the supporters for the lynching.
Slain IAS officer's wife urges PM to intervene to stop release of Anand Mohan
G. Uma Krishnaiah, widow of slain Dalit IAS officer G. Krishnaiah, has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and stop release of former MP Anand Mohan Singh, who was convicted for the bureaucrat's lynching.
A day after the Bihar government decided to release Anand Mohan Singh by amending the Bihar prison manual, she said she was shocked by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's move.
Uma Krishnaiah said Modi should intervene and make Nitish Kumar withdraw his decision which will set a bad precedent and have serious repercussions for the entire society. "My husband was an IAS officer and it is the Centre's responsibility to ensure that justice is done," she said.
She alleged that Nitish Kumar is releasing killer of her husband for votes of Rajputs and to form a government again.
"He (Nitish Kumar) thinks that by releasing him, he will get votes of all Rajputs and this will help him form the government again. This is wrong," said Uma, who lives in Hyderabad.
"This goes on in Bihar but this is not good. There should be good people in politics and not criminals like Mohan," she said.
Also Read | Karnataka polls: High voltage campaigning by Priyanka Gandhi, Amit Shah
Krishnaiah, an IAS officer of 1985 batch, was killed on December 5, 1994. Then Gopalganj District Magistrate, he was killed by a mob allegedly provoked by Anand Mohan Singh. The mob, which was protesting with the body of Chhotan Shukla, a gangster-politician of Anand Mohan's party, who was killed a day earlier, dragged Krishnaiah out of his car and lynched him.
Anand Mohan Singh was sentenced to death by a lower court in 2007, but the Patna High Court commuted the penalty to life imprisonment in 2008. He has been in jail for 15 years.
The widow of the slain bureaucrat said that she was not happy when he was awarded life imprisonment instead of the death penalty. "Now it is heartbreaking for me that he being released even before completing the sentence," she said
Uma Krishnaiah, who had moved to Hyderabad a few days after losing her husband, said the Rajput community should also think if a criminal like Anand Mohan Singh can do any good to them and to the society.
She believes that this action of Nitish Kumar will embolden criminals to take law into their hands. Uma Krishnaiah, 60, is of the view that release of Mohan may endanger the lives of civil servants and government officers discharging their duties honestly as the criminals will think that they can take law into their hands and do whatever they want and come out of jail.
She revealed that some IAS officers of 1985 batch are in touch with her and they were contemplating to move the Patna High Court or the Supreme Court to challenge the decision of Nitish Kumar government.
It was a life full of struggle for Uma Krishnaiah. After losing her husband, she had moved to Hyderabad with two daughters, aged 7 and 5. The family was traumatised after what it had to go through.
Also Read | Repeal repressive 'black laws' like NSA: Sukhbir Badal
She took up the job of lecturer in a college in Hyderabad to look after the family. She was allotted a house site in Prashasan Nagar in Jubilee Hills, where she constructed her house.
Retiring in 2017, she ensured good education for both the daughters, who are currently employed as a bank manager and a software engineer.
