New Delhi: The Central Secretariat Service (CSS) officers' association has expressed "concern and anguish" over Bihar government's decision to prematurely release gangster-turned-politician Anand Mohan, who was convicted for his role in the lynching of ex-IAS officer G Krishnaiah.
Mohan, who was serving life sentence in the 1994 murder case of G Krishnaiah, the then district magistrate of Bihar's Gopalganj, was released from Saharsa jail on April 27 after being behind the bars for 15 years. The former Bihar MP was released under a jail sentence remission order after Bihar government's recent amendment of prison rules, which allowed the early release of 27 convicts, including him.
The Central Secretariat Service Forum (CSS Forum), which represents all CSS officers, expressed its deep concern and anguish over the release of the convict responsible for the lynching of Krishnaiah, a 1985-batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre, a resolution by the association said. "The CSS Forum wholeheartedly stands by the family of the deceased officer in their fight for justice in accordance with law and expresses solidarity with the resolution of the IAS association in demanding justice to the family of late Shri Krishnaiah," the resolution, issued late Tuesday night, said.
The central IAS officers association, the Indian Police Service (central) officers association, the Indian Forest Service (central) officers association, the Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) officers association, the Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Indirect Taxes) officers association have also raised their voice against the release of Mohan, all of which have requested the Bihar government to reconsider its decision.
The IAS officers association of Assam, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre, among others, have also opposed Mohan's release. "A convict of a charge of murder of a public servant on duty, cannot be re-classified to a less heinous category," the central IAS association had said in a statement dated April 25.
"Amendment of an existing classification which leads ro the release of the convicted killer of a pubic servant on duty 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 had said.
The Supreme Court on May 8 sought a response from the Centre and the Bihar government on a plea challenging Mohan's release. Krishnaiah, who hailed from Telangana, was beaten to death by a mob in 1994 when his vehicle tried to overtake the funeral procession of gangster Chhotan Shukla in Muzaffarpur district. Mohan, who was then the sitting MLA from Mahishi, was leading the procession.
Mohan's remission of sentence followed an April 10 amendment of Bihar Prison Manual by the Nitish Kumar government whereby the restriction on the early release of those involved in killing of a public servant on duty was done away with. This, the critics of the state government's decision claim, was done to facilitate the release of Mohan, a Rajput strongman, who could add heft to the grand alliance, led by Nitish Kumar, in its fight against the BJP. Several people, including politicians, benefited from the amendment to the state prison rules. (PTI)
