Death sentence for ex-MP in Bihar DM’s murder

Lawmakers have been breaking law with impunity. But, for the first time a Patna sessions court sentenced politicians to death and life imprisonment. Is this the beginning of the end of lawbreakers masquerading as lawmakers? A report.

CJ: Arindam Roy, 4 Oct 2007 Views: 1273 Comments: 1

A SESSIONS court in Patna resembled a garrison, when it pronounced death sentences to three and life imprisonment to four convicts in the brutal murder of the Gopalganj district magistrate (DM), G Krishnaiah. All seven convicts were taken to jail under heavy security cover, on Wednesday.

After 13 years, the former MP Anand Mohan was awarded death sentence. His wife, Lovely Anand, Janta Dal (U), an ex-MP from Vaishali, was sentenced to life imprisonment. The Additional Sessions Judge Ram Krishna Rai pronounced the punishment.

All the seven accused are politicians. For the first time lawmakers have been convicted of inciting riot and murder. It’s worth mentioning that several mafia dons and history sheeters are MPs and MLAs from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

Former RJD MLA Akhlaq Ahmed was also sentenced to death, while a ruling JD (U) MLA Vijay Kumar Shukla alias Munna Shukla was awarded Life.

The high profile politician couple was in tears, in the court. Between sobs they said that they had not expected ‘this punishment’.

The duo denied their involvement in the lynching to death of the Gopalganj DM. They said they would challenge this order in a superior court. The other two politicians, sentenced in this case, made similar statements.

The slain DM, Krishnaiah, was a Bihar cadre IAS from Andhra Pradesh. He was lynched to death on December 5, 1994.

The court found that a mob was incited by the accused to beat the DM into unconsciousness, before shooting him to death. His fault was that he had inadvertently crossed the path of the funeral procession of Chotan Shukla, of the now defunct Bihar People’s Party.

Meanwhile, 29 persons out of the 36 accused were acquitted due to lack of sufficient evidences against them. Earlier, the same court had held all seven accused guilty under various sections of the IPC (Indian Penal Codes) for murder, attempted murder and rioting.

(Link: http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=126785)