While don-turned-politician Anand Mohan quietly exited Saharsa jail in the early hours of April 27, his supporters across the entire district celebrated with chants of ‘ Jail ka tala toot gaya, sher hamara chhut gaya (The jail lock is broken, our lion is free)’. The former MP and MLA had served over 15 years in jail after being convicted in the case of murder of G. Krishnaiah, the then District Magistrate of Gopalganj in 1994. It was to avenge the killing of a criminal by the police that a mob owing allegiance to Mohan lynched Krishnaiah, a Scheduled Caste IAS officer. The release came about after the Bihar Home Department tweaked the jail manual, lifting a bar on those who had killed a public servant on duty from remission.
Much of the credit for the release is being given to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. As early as January 23, during a function to honour Rajput king Maharana Pratap at Patna’s Miller High School, Mr. Kumar had responded to shouts from the audience demanding Mohan’s release saying he was already on the job. There is a political imperative behind Mohan, who is known as ‘Sher-e-Bihar,’ being set free: the upper caste, or more precisely the Rajput, vote.
