L N Mishra murder: 4 get life

While awarding the sentence to three Ananda Margas — Santoshanand (75), Sudevanand (79) and Gopalji (73) — and Ranjan Dwivedi (66), District and Sessions Judge Vinod Goel observed that it was not a “cold blooded murder” and did not bear “trace of personal animosity” with the victims.

According to the prosecution, the convicts were associated with the “Revolutionary Group” of Anand Marg cult, formed with an aim to secure the release of their cult head, Anand Murti alias Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar. The followers were under an impression that the establishment and jail authorities had conceived evil design to eliminate the cult head by poisoning him in the jail. After which, the group conspired to kill then railway minister Mishra, then Bihar CM Abdul Gaffoor, officers of CBI, jail doctor and civil surgeon of Patna.

Declining to term the case as “rarest of rare”, the court said: “They were guided by the passion and also became blindfolded to achieve the misunderstood targets. They entertained an idea that by causing a big jolt in the establishment by the acts of terror, the government would buckle under their pressure to release their cult head. Under such indoctrination, they chose the important personalities in the establishment as the obstacles to be removed. With these false ideas, the convicts have resorted to the misadventure.”

The court has also directed Bihar government to pay Rs 5 lakh each to the heirs of Mishra and kin of the two other victims who died in the blast. It also asked the state to pay a compensation of Rs 1.5 lakh each to the family members of seven persons who had sustained grievous injuries and Rs 50,000 each to the kin of those who received minor injuries.