After remission of sentence was granted to former MP Anand Mohan who was serving a jail term for the 1994 murder of the then Gopalganj district magistrate G Krishnaiah, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has sent a notice to the Bihar government, asking it to explain the conditions under which this was done.
The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Bihar government to produce complete original records related to the release of former MP Anand Mohan.
Former MP Mohan was serving life term in the 1994 murder case of then Gopalganj District Magistrate G Krishnaiah. He was released last month.
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A bench of Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala told advocate Manish Kumar, appearing for the Bihar government, that no further adjournment will be granted in the case and directed him to place the complete records for perusal of the court. It listed the plea filed by the wife of the slain officer challenging the release of Mohan on August 8.
NCSC chairman Vijay Sampla, who is on a visit to Bihar, said on Friday that notices have been served on the state chief secretary (CS) and the director general of police (DGP), asking them to furnish all related details to the commission at the earliest.
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The commission also reportedly came down heavily against the state government for its alleged failure to protect the lives and interest of SCs.
He further said that Bihar ranks in the second position in the country in crimes against SC people and it is a matter of concern. "Bihar is at second position in the country, when it comes to crime, including murder, against SCs. The state government has not taken any concrete steps to check crimes against SCs,” Sampla told reporters.
The remission of his sentence followed an April 10 amendment to the Bihar Prison Manual by the Nitish Kumar government whereby the restriction on early release of those involved in killing of a public servant on duty was done away with.
This, the critics of the state government's decision claim, was done to facilitate the release of Mohan, a Rajput strongman, who could add heft to the grand alliance led by Nitish Kumar in its fight against the BJP. Several others, including politicians, benefited from the amendment to the state prison rules.
Earlier, the NCSC slammed chief minister Nitish Kumar for this amendment in the manual.
(With inputs from PTI)
