Union Minister Giriraj Singh attacked Nitish Kumar over Anand Mohan case
Union Minister Giriraj Singh has called gangster-turned-politician Anand Mohan Singh a "scapegoat" in the political play of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, on a day the state government announced that Anand Mohan - who was convicted in 1994 in the murder of a bureaucrat - would be released along with 26 other convicts.
Mr Singh's comment on Anand Mohan's release, however, differs from the line of criticism that his colleagues in the BJP has taken over the issue.
The Bihar government has tweaked its prison rules, allowing the release of the 27 convicts in the murder case of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer G Krishnaiah.
Mr Singh said Anand Mohan has been in jail for a long time and there should not be any issue in his release, but the release of 26 others under Anand Mohan's "cover" is what the people should be asking the Nitish Kumar government for an explanation.
"People are asking, who all have been released under the cover of releasing only Anand Mohan," Mr Singh said. "They will never forgive the Bihar government for releasing so many convicts under the cover of Anand Mohan's release," he added.
"Poor Anand Mohan remained in jail for a long time. He has been made a scapegoat," the Union Minister said.
BJP MP Sushil Modi, attacking the Nitish Kumar government, said his government amended the jail manual in 2016, after which "rapist-murderers, terrorists and those who killed a government official" became eligible for remission.
"Today, Nitish Kumar used the (amended) provision in the jail manual to get help from the criminals for the 2024 elections," said Mr Modi, the former deputy of Mr Kumar.
The IAS association has condemned the Bihar government's move to release the former MP.
G Krishnaiah, the then Gopalganj District Magistrate, was killed by a mob allegedly provoked by Anand Mohan. The former MP was sentenced to death in 2007 by a lower court in Bihar. The Patna High Court, however, commuted it to life imprisonment; that order was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2012.
Earlier this month, the Bihar government removed the clause that had forbidden the remission of jail term for those convicted of murdering an officer on duty.
In its notification, the state's law department said the new rules were for prisoners who have served the actual sentence of 14 years or a sentence of 20 years with remission.