Chetan Mohan said it's an emotional moment for family on Anand Mohan Singh's release
Chetan Mohan, the son of gangster-turned-politician Anand Mohan Singh, has denied any political angle in the release of his murder convict father from a Bihar jail.
Anand Mohan was released at 3 am today, jail sources told NDTV, following a tweak in the jail rules of Bihar just days ago.
Leaders of the opposition BJP in Bihar have criticised Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his Janata Dal (United) government over the move, alleging it was done with an eye on Rajput votes.
Chetan Mohan, however, said his father has served the sentence and his release is the right decision.
"I don't have anything to say on what the opposition party is saying. Everyone knows that my father, despite being innocent, served the sentence. It was very hard for the family," said Chetan Mohan, an MLA from Tejashwi Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal.
"He is coming out after 16 long years. It is a very emotional moment for our family," Chetan Mohan told NDTV. "We have been living without our father for many years. You know how painful it is," he added.
In 1994, the then Gopalganj district magistrate G Krishnaiah was killed by a mob that was protesting over the murder of another gangster-politician belonging to Anand Mohan Singh's party. They were allegedly egged on by Anand Mohan.
In 2007, Anand Mohan was sentenced to death, but it was commuted to life imprisonment.
Chetan Mohan said their family's suffering was no less than what the family of Padma Krishnaiah, the daughter of the IAS officer murdered by the mob, had gone through. "I feel for Krishnaiah's family. I wanted to meet them but we have also suffered just like them. We had to live without a father for 16 long years," Chetan Mohan told NDTV.
Earlier this month, the Bihar government tweaked the prison rules, allowing remission of jail term of those convicted for murdering a public servant on duty.
Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party also criticised the Nitish Kumar government's move to release Anand Mohan, saying the tweak in rules was "anti-Dalit" and requested the state government to reconsider the decision.
Padma Krishnaiah, the daughter of the murdered Indian Administrative Service officer, has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in the matter.
"I would request PM Narendra Modi ji - such people should not come back into society. I do not have the power to fight this... please bring a law so that such gangsters and mafia cannot roam free in Bihar or any other state. Please reconsider the situation," Ms Krishnaiah told NDTV.