SC Sentences Ex-MLA Munna Shukla To Life Imprisonment In 1998 Murder Of Ex-Bihar Minister

The Supreme Court gave its verdict in the 1998 murder of former minister Brij Bihari Prasad. It has ordered life imprisonment to former MLA Munna Shukla, who was earlier acquitted by Patna High Court, and upheld the acquittal of former MP Surajbhan Singh.

Patna:The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered life imprisonment to two persons, including former MLA Vijay Kumar Shukla alias Munna Shukla, in connection with the 1998 murder of former minister Brij Bihari Prasad.

The court has partially overturned a 2014 order of the Patna High Court that had acquitted all eight accused in this case. During the hearing, the apex court upheld the acquittal of former MP Surajbhan Singh and five others but sentenced two to life imprisonment for their involvement in the murder.

Who is Munna Shukla?

Fifty five-year-old Munna Shukla, who was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Supreme Court in the Brij Bihari Prasad murder case, has a criminal history. His brothers, Chotan Shukla and Bhutkun Shukla, had once wielded power over criminal groups. Chotan was murdered in a gang war, while Bhutkun was accused of killing Gopalganj DM G. Krishnaiya.

Munna Shukla was an MLA from Lalganj assembly of Vaishali district. In the recent Lok Sabha elections, he contested from Vaishali on RJD ticket but was defeated.

Murder that happened 26 years ago:

On June 13, 1998, late Brij Bihari Prasad, a minister in the Rabri Devi government, was murdered when he was strolling in the IGIMS campus. The deceased minister was accused of murdering Devendra Dubey and after his arrest in the admission scam, Brij Bihari was admitted to IGIMS with complaints of chest pain.

According to the FIR lodged in Patna's Gardanibagh (now Shastrinagar) police station, many people including Mantu Tiwari, Bhupendranath Dubey and Shriprakash Shukla got down from an ambassador and SUV and started firing indiscriminately at Brij Bihari. His bodyguard were also shot in the incident.

Munna Shukla and Surajbhan Singh were among the eight accused in the case.

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