AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday condemned the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government’s decision to amend the jail manual and release Anand Mohan to fulfil their political interests terming it a murder for the second time.

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Anand Mohan was convicted in the killing of an IAS officer, G Krishnaiah.

Meanwhile, Krishnaiah’s daughter G Padma said Anand Mohan’s release was “disheartening” and once again urged Nitish Kumar to reconsider his decision as did IAS Association of Andhra Pradesh in a strong statement.

Iterating the demand that the Bihar chief minister should reconsider on his decision, Owaisi said, “Bihar government’s decision is akin to the second time murder of Krishnaiah saab. It is unfortunate that the IAS officers of Bihar and their association are sitting in silence.”

Referring Krishnaiah’s humble antecedents as a Dalit, the AIMIM chief expressed his apprehensions saying, “Are we going to go back to the days of Ranveer Sena and Sunlight Sena in Bihar?”

The private armies of upper caste landlords had unleashed terror among Dalits in Bihar in the 1980s and 1990s by committing massacres. Taking a dig at Nitish Kumar and RJD’s claims about “social justice” for the weak and the poor, he drew a parallel with the BJP government’s decision to release the rapists of Bilkis Bano in Gujarat.

Meanwhile, the IAS Association of Andhra Pradesh expressed strong objection against the decision of the Bihar government to release the convicts and termed it as “appalling”. In a press statement the association stated that it will adversely affect the morale of all civil servants.

“If such an officer is attacked it is an open challenge to the Constitution and to the concept and functioning of the state. If the challenge is not met with an appropriate, consistent and a continuous response it will erode the foundations of the Constitution. In this context the orders of the State government is unwarranted and has created dangerous precedents for the future” read the statement.

The association also made an appeal to the Bihar government “to reconsider its decision at the earliest in the interest of the nation.”

Quite a few of the IAS batchmates of the slain IAS officer, who hailed from Andhra Pradesh but was awarded Bihar Cadre, have spoken up in support of Uma Krishnaiah, his widow. She has accused the Bihar chief minister of tweaking the jail manual in the interest of vote bank politics since the ruling combine wants to secure Rajput vote – the community to which Anand Mohan belongs to.