Anand Mohan Singh: The decision is sending "wrong signals" in the society, she said.
The death sentence for gangster-turned-politician Anand Mohan Singh, convicted in the murder of a Dalit bureaucrat in Bihar, was "good", as people would fear criminals if he was hanged, the wife of murdered IAS officer said, expressing disappointment at the Bihar government tweaking prison rules facilitating the Rajput strongman's release after 15 years of jail. The decision is sending "wrong signals" in the society, she said, and requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and ask Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to take the decision back.
"Not a good decision. We were not happy with the life imprisonment decision earlier but now he is being released and entering politics. We don't agree with the move. It's in a way encouraging the criminals. It sends out a message that you can commit a crime, and go to jail but then get freed and join politics. The death penalty was good," Uma Krishnaiah, wife of Dalit bureaucrat G Krishnaiah, told NDTV.
Then Gopalganj District Magistrate, G Krishnaiah was killed by a mob allegedly provoked by Anand Mohan Singh. Mr Krishnaiah was attacked by a mob protesting with the body of Chhotan Shukla, another gangster-politician of Anand Mohan's party, who was killed a day earlier. He was dragged out of his official car and lynched.
Ms Krishnaiah called the decision a "selfish motivation" and suggested it will incentivise criminals. She further called it a political decision that "nobody would like".
On the future course of action, she said she'd take the advice of G Krishnaiah's batchmates and the IAS association, who are discussing it and will decide within a week.
Reacting to the news earlier today, Anand Mohan Singh, whose imminent release from jail has sparked a huge row in Bihar, made it clear that he is ready to jump back into the arena of active politics.
Singh was sentenced to death by a lower court in 2007, but the Patna High Court later commuted the penalty to life imprisonment. He has been in jail for 15 years.
The strongman, whose son is an MLA from Lalu Yadav's RJD, is among 27 prisoners set to be released after the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government tweaked the prison rules, allowing remission of jail term for those convicted of murdering a public servant on duty.
Responding to the uproar over his imminent release, Singh said, "There are many in BJP who have also said that I am being wronged and that I should be released. You can't stop anyone from saying anything."
The ruling JDU has hit back at the BJP, stressing that Singh has completed his jail term and that the Nitish Kumar government does not differentiate between "aam" and "khaas" people.