G Krishnaiah: How Anand Mohan and his men killed the Gopalganj DM

He had been instrumental in mobilizing the upper caste Bhumihar votes for Mohan’s wife, Lovely Anand, in the 1994 Vaishali bypoll. Since the Bihar People’s Party (BPP) had just been formed by Mohan, Chhotan was confident of getting a BPP ticket from Kesaria, an Assembly segment adjoining Vaishali. With BPP tasting its first electoral success with Lovely’s victory, Chhotan started early campaigning in Kesaria. Mohan had also been subtly working on a social combination of upper caste Rajputs and Bhumihars, often called the ‘Rifle-bullet’ combination for their dominance in politics. This combination was also being seen as a strong counter to then Chief Minister Lalu Prasad’s high-pitched plank of reservation at the height of Mandal politics.

Chairman of Bihar Peoples Party Anand Mohan has finally come under the grip of Lalu Yadav. Police arrested him at Patna. Express archive photo

As Chhotan’s four-wheeler reached near Bhagwanpur Chowk under Sadar police station in Muzaffarpur around 10 pm, unidentified assailants and a policeman fired indiscriminately. Chhotan and four others were killed on the spot. One person who survived the attack managed to reach his residence and pass on the news to Chhotan’s younger brother Awadhesh Shukla, Bhutkun Shukla, also a dreaded gangster and his brother’s henchman. Since a policeman was involved in Chhotan’s murder, his supporters went on the rampage in town late at night on 4 December, damaging vehicles and blocking traffic.

The Indian Express coverage of G Krishnaiah’s murder in 1994. Then Chief Minister Lalu Prasad was reportedly shocked to learn that the DM was first shot and then lynched. He allegedly asked senior officers to downplay this information as they waited for the post-mortem report, even as he ordered stern action against the killers of the IAS officer.

December 5, 1994

A day later, Bhutkun and the others marched in protest with Chhotan’s body from Muzaffarpur to his paternal village of Khanjahachak in Lalganj, Vaishali, some 35 km away. A large crowd joined the protest march. By 3 pm, the crowd in Muzaffarpur town was uncontrollable.

Mohan, the young Rajput leader bubbling with raw energy and riding high on the euphoria of his wife making it to Parliament, entered the scene with her and his band of his supporters, including influential local politicians Arun Kumar Sinha and Akhlaq Ahmad.

G Krishnaiah, who joined the IAS in 1985, was posted as the District Magistrate of Gopalganj. Express Archive

Around 3.45 pm, Mohan stopped the protest march to address the crowd. Having gained recognition as the strongest anti-Lalu leader due to his anti-reservation stance, Mohan delivered a powerful and aggressive speech. In his speech, he blamed the state government for the “total failure of law and order” which, he claimed, led to Chhotan’s murder.

A senior journalist from Muzaffarpur who covered the procession recalled, “After Mohan’s speech, the crowd became even more aggressive towards the police. Even though policemen had to accompany the procession, they kept a safe distance from the aggressive group of people led by the agitated Bhutkun.”

Around 4 pm, 35-year-old G Krishnaiah, the Gopalganj District Magistrate, was returning to Gopalganj from Hajipur, the district headquarters of Vaishali, after a meeting. The sight of a white Ambassador with a red beacon — indicating the presence of a government representative — infuriated the already-charged crowd. The crowd seized control of Krishnaiah’s car near Khabra village, along National Highway 28, and started pelting stones at his car.

G Uma Krishnaiah was just 30 when she lost her husband, IAS officer G Krishnaiah, on December 5, 1994. Express Archive

Krishnaiah tried to tell the crowd that he was the Gopalganj DM and was just a passer-by crossing the route as part of his official duty. However, the crowd, high on anger and emotion, was not ready to listen to his pleas.

This is where Mohan — as per the 2007 verdict of his conviction for inciting the mob to kill the DM — had said, “Dekhta kya hai, Bhutkun? Badla le lo (What are you waiting for, Bhutkun? Take your revenge).”

Mohan later unsuccessfully tried to prove that he was not at the spot.

Provoked by Mohan, Bhutkun reportedly flashed his pistol, an image which was also captured by a photographer, who was later made an accused. Bhutkun allegedly shot at Krishnaiah and later handed him over to the crowd, who beat the DM with whatever objects they could find, including bricks and stones.

Around 4.30 pm, as the DM fell unconscious on the road, bleeding profusely and lying unattended, Mohan sensed the gravity of the situation and left the spot quickly, with his deft driver at his command. Registering Mohan’s disappearance, the crowd got jittery and started dispersing. The protesters moved with Chhotan’s body towards Lalganj.

The police rushed the unconscious Krishnaiah to Muzaffarpur’s Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH), where doctors conducted a surgery to remove a bullet embedded near his neck. However, Krishnaiah succumbed to his injuries within an hour of the incident.

Following her husband’s death, G Uma Krishnaiah moved to Hyderabad with their two daughters. (Express Archive)

The brutal killing of an IAS officer dealt Lalu’s Janata Dal government its first major law and order setback. Muzaffarpur Superintendent of Police (SP) A S Rajan took control of the situation as soon as the angry and rampaging crowd dispersed from the district town. The SP filled the town with enough police personnel to prevent further incidents and also launched a manhunt for Mohan and the others.

In the evening that day, the CM visited Muzaffarpur to monitor the situation. Lalu was reportedly shocked to learn from SKMCH doctors that the DM was first shot and then lynched. Reportedly asking senior officers to downplay this information, Lalu told them to wait for the post-mortem report. Then, he ordered stern action against the killers of the IAS officer.

Lovely Anand at Parliament House with husband Anand Mohan. Express archive photo by RK Dayal. Express Archive

December 6, 1994

On December 6, Sadar police station in Muzaffarpur booked 36 persons, including Mohan, his wife, Bhutkun, then JD(U) Lalganj MLA Vijay Kumar Shukla alias Munna (the third Shukla brother), Akhlaq and Arun. In October 2007, the Court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Ram Krishna Rai convicted seven individuals, including Mohan, under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 147 (rioting). Along with Mohan, Munna, former MLA Akhlaq, Shashi Shekhar, and Arun were also convicted. Twenty-nine other accused were acquitted due to lack of corroborative evidence.

The lower court later sentenced Mohan, Akhlaq and Arun to death in 2007, but their sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by the Patna High Court in 2008. The High Court also acquitted the other accused, including Lovely. Currently, only Mohan is serving a life sentence in the case — Akhlaq was granted a reprieve from the High Court and Arun passed away a few years ago.

The World of Shukla Brothers: Contracts, Crime, and Politics

In early 1993, during a press conference, a young Muzaffarpur reporter asked Chhotan why he had turned to a life of crime. At that time, the Shukla brothers held sway in Muzaffarpur and Vaishali, and no one dared ask them any unpleasant questions.

Luckily for the cub reporter, Chhotan took the question in good spirit and answered, “Jiska baap maara gaya ho aur FIR tak na ho, to log kya kare (What does one do if one’s father is murdered and an FIR is not also filed)?”

G Krishnaiah’s mother holding a framed photograph of her youngest son. Express Archive

His father Ramdas Shukla, a Muzaffarpur advocate with good political connections, had been killed at his residence at Nayatola under Kazi Mohammadpur police station in 1984. It is a different matter that an FIR was filed in connection with his father’s murder.

Like Mohan, Chhotan was also a product of the JP Movement. Chhotan later developed an interest in taking government contracts, mostly in the building department. Around 1980, he came into contact with a Motihari contractor named Brijbihari Prasad. Chhotan joined hands with Brijbihari as one of his key associates and also started getting petty contracts through this connection.

“There was so much camaraderie and warmth between Brijbihari and Chhotan at one stage that the former’s wife Rama Devi, now a BJP MP from Sheohar, used to tie rakhi to Chhotan on Raksha Bandhan,” recalled a Muzaffarpur journalist.

By the early 1980s, Chhotan, a member of the land-owning caste that traditionally dominated the region’s politics, was known for his involvement in petty crimes like theft and extortion. In contrast, Brijbihari was a successful contractor who had become wealthy by securing government contracts. Both men were vying for control of Muzaffarpur’s politics and had strong support from their respective communities.

By 1982, Chhotan had a falling out with Brijbihari and the two became sworn enemies. Their groups targeted each other’s supporters, and several murders occurred between 1983 and 1985. Both groups were suspected for these murders but no FIRs were filed against them. At this time, both Chhotan and Brijbihari enjoyed the patronage of Raghunath. But Brijbihari tried to defy Raghunath, making Chhotan his automatic favourite. Raghunath went on to serve as Muzaffarpur MLA from 1985 to 2000.

With Raghunath’s backing, Chhotan had the tacit approval of the most prominent fellow caste leader of Bihar. Simultaneously, the Shukla brothers had the unspoken backing of another prominent Bhumihar leader, Hemant Shahi, who was the son of former minister and Congress leader L P Shahi. By 1990, Chhotan, who had started harbouring political ambitions, asked Bhutkun to take control of the contracts. Between 1985 and 1994, the Shukla brothers were named in over a dozen cases of extortion, attempted murder and rioting.

However, clipping the wings of Chhotan’s political rise was the colossal and frenetic growth of Brijbihari, who had become an MLA and a minister in the Lalu government in 1990. Brijbihari tried his best to minimize the influence of the Shukla brothers. A turf war for control of the town, government contracts and major stakes in local politics only served to widen the gulf between friends-turned-foes from 1990 till Chhotan’s death in 1994. Failure of the Muzaffarpur police to find evidence in his murder case led to the filing of a closure report in 2020. Between 1990 and 1995, Brijbihari received support from Begusarai’s muscleman, Ashok Sharma, a Bhumihar who later became infamous as ‘Ashok Samrat’.

With Chhotan’s death, Bhutkun now held the reins despite being wanted for Krishnaiah’s murder. The geographical setting of Khanjahachak village, which is surrounded by rivers on three sides, providing an escape route to Uttar Pradesh via Saran, ensured that Bhutkun was never arrested by the police. To be on the safe side, Bhutkun went underground.

Even after Chhotan’s death, the rivalry between Bhutkun and Brijbihari refused to abate. In 1997, Brijbihari’s right-hand man Onkar Singh was murdered in broad daylight in Muzaffarpur. The murder left Brijbihari livid since he suspected Bhutkun’s involvement in the murder. Bhutkun, meanwhile, continued to keep Brijbihari at an arm’s length.

Bhutkun continued to run his operations — extortion and contracts — from his hideout. Unknown to Bhutkun at that time, his enemies had successfully “planted” their own man, Dipak Singh, as his bodyguard around 1995 itself. Dipak got to work winning Bhutkun’s confidence. The world of the Shuklas, which now included Munna, looked indestructible and impenetrable from the inside out.

One October morning in 1997, Bhutkun finished his morning puja, which included worshipping his arms, and was getting ready for some work in the village, when Dipak shot his master dead. Bhutkun died on the spot. Before Khanjahachak could get wind of this dastardly murder, Dipak, in a rather ironic twist of fate, took the very same escape route to UP that Bhutkun would take to evade the police. No one was arrested in Bhutkun’s murder.

On June 13, 1998, Brijbihari, who was under judicial custody and admitted to the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences in Patna, was shot dead. Munna was booked as an accused along with UP’s Sriprakash Shukla, politician Rajan Tiwari, former MP Suraj Bhan Singh and six others.

In 2009, a Patna court sentenced all the accused to life (except Sriprakash, who was killed in September 1998). In July 2014, the Patna High Court acquitted nine people, including Munna, in the case.

On April 24, the Bihar government notified the release of 27 prisoners, including Mohan, after amending the Bihar Prison Manual. The jail manual change dropped “murder of a public servant on duty” as one of the categories of crime for which the accused could not be considered for premature release, before 20 years.

The Rajput-Bhumihar combination and Shuklas in politics

The 1990s witnessed the beginnings of tiny tectonic shifts in Bihar’s political landscape. The Mandal movement was heating up. There were flutters of an alliance between the Rajputs and the Bhumihars, the upper caste communities that account for nearly 8 per cent of the state’s population. Kishori Sinha, the wife of former Bihar Chief Minister and political heavyweight Satyendra Narayan Sinha, was defeated by Lovely, a political lightweight and BPP candidate, in the 1994 Vaishali Lok Sabha bypolls. And the usually astute Lalu was also caught off guard by these changes.

But things did not go as per script for Mohan, as Krishnaiah’s lynching kept haunting him and somewhat dwindled his popularity. The social combination of Rajput and Bhumihars never worked out, much to the relief of Lalu, who still sat pretty with his unassailable combination of Muslims and Yadavs, besides splinter support of the Economically Backward Class (EBCs) and Dalits.

In 1995, BPP fielded Chhotan’s wife, Kiran Shukla, from the Kesaria Assembly segment, but she lost to Communist Party of India (CPI) candidate Yamuna Yadav. Munna made his political debut only in 2005 as a JD(U) MLA. His wife, Annu Shukla, retained the seat as an independent in 2010. From 2015 to 2020, the shine associated with the Shukla name had dulled considerably and they failed to hold on to their turf.

Had Mohan been able to get the alliance together and had Krishnaiah not been at the wrong place at the wrong time, Lalu would have had many reasons to worry. Krishnaiah’s lynching not only dimmed Mohan’s rising political star and the political ambitions of the Shukla brothers, but also stymied any chances of this ‘Rifle-Bullet’ combination. With Mohan all set to walk out of jail after 14 years, it remains to be seen how his political clout will change Bihar politics.