Days after the Bihar state government tweaked the prison rules, gangster-turned-politician Anand Mohan Singh walked out of jail in the early hours of Thursday.
Initially, the former parliamentarian Singh was to be released around 07:00 IST (01:30 GMT) but the plan was changed to avoid the media.
According to media reports, Singh's location after he walked out of jail was not known, the phone belonging to his son - Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) lawmaker Chetan Anand - was not reachable, and the residence in Saharsa was locked.
Change in Prison Rules
Singh's release was effected by an amendment to the 2012 Bihar Prison Manual by the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar state government on 10 April.
The government removed the clause whereby “murder of a public servant on duty” disbarred a prisoner from being considered for remission of a jail term.
Controversy Over Amendment
Soon after the changes in the prison rules, the opposition party in the state's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) slammed the state government.
BJP parliamentarian and former deputy state chief Sushil Kumar Modi said that Nitish Kumar had sacrificed law to stay on in power.
Modi's statement is important as Singh is considered a prominent Rajput (upper caste) face in the state and the move by the state government is being viewed as an attempt to lure prospective voters from that particular class in the 2024 parliamentary polls.
Former Uttar Pradesh state chief, Kumari Mayawati, also slammed Bihar's state government, declaring that the move is “anti-Dalit”.
What is Singh Guilty of?
Singh was serving a life sentence for abetting the murder of the Gopalganj district magistrate G. Krishnaiah in 1994. He was found guilty of instigating the mob that lynched the IAS officer. The mob was protesting with the body of another gangster-turned-politician of Singh’s party who was killed a day earlier.
In 2007, a lower court sentenced Singh to death. However, the Patna High Court in 2008 commuted the penalty to life imprisonment after Singh appealed against the lower court’s order.
He even challenged the Patna High Court’s decision in the Supreme Court. But the top court upheld the High Court’s decision.