After Bihar, it is now the Uttar Pradesh IAS Association that has taken strong exception to the Nitish government’s move of releasing former MP Anand Mohan Singh, who was convicted in the killing of the then Gopalganj district magistrate G. Krishnaiah in 1994.
The association has made a strong appeal to the Bihar government to reconsider the decision in the national interest at the earliest.
“We strongly appeal to the state government of Bihar to reconsider its decision at the earliest in the interest of the nation,” said the association in a statement released on Twitter.
The Bihar government, on April 24, notified about the release of 27 prisoners, including former MP Anand Mohan Singh, who walked out of jail on Thursday last.
“Uttar Pradesh IAS Association expresses strong objection at the decision of the state government of Bihar to release the convicts of the brutal killing of late Shri G. #Krishnaiah, #IAS, former DM Gopalganj…. Born in the State of Andhra Pradesh in a humble family, Krishnaiah became an IAS officer by dint of his grit and determination and was allotted Bihar cadre. As an IAS officer, Krishnaiah always took decisions in favour of the poor and downtrodden. Even on the day when he was brutally killed, he was trying to safeguard his bodyguard from the mob,” the statement said.
Without naming any released prisoner, the association said, “Action of the state government in releasing the killer of such an excellent officer is appalling to say the least. Such an action of the Government will have adverse effect on the morale of not only IAS officers but also other civil servants. An IAS officer takes allegiance of oath to the Constitution to serve the country honestly and loyally. He or she performs duties as per the orders of the Government. If such an officer is attacked, then it is an open challenge to the Constitution of India 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 are unwarranted and created dangerous precedents for the future.”
The Uttar Pradesh IAS Association has broken its silence on an important issue after a long time. Some former IAS officers have also condemned the Bihar government’s action.
Former IAS officer Vijay Shankar Pandey, who retired as secretary to the Union government, said, “This is very unfortunate and the Bihar chief minister should reconsider the decision.”
Former Uttar Pradesh director general of police (DGP) Prakash Singh, in a tweet, said, “All officers of All India Services of Bihar cadre should demonstrate peacefully and democratically their disapproval of state govt action.”
It may be recalled that Krishnaiah was lynched to death by a mob led by Anand Mohan in Muzaffarpur on December 5, 1994 during the funeral of criminal Chotan Shukla, who was killed in a police encounter.
The Nitish Kumar government had dropped some crucial words from a provision in the Bihar Jail Manual, 2012, to facilitate the release of former MP Anand Mohan Singh, 69.
In an order of April 10, the Bihar government dropped “murder of a public servant on duty” as one of the cases in which an accused would not be eligible for premature release.
Anand Mohan Singh was sentenced to death by a trial court in 2007. A year later, the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by the Patna High Court.
He then challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court but no relief has been granted yet and he remained in Saharsa jail from which he was released on Thursday.