After jail relief, Nitish govt’s cold feet: ‘sher-e-Bihar’ Anand Mohan gets a quiet, 3 am release

On Thursday, the Mahagathbandhan government chose discretion as the best form of valour.

People kept waiting for Anand Mohan after his release from jail at his paternal village of Saharsa. (Express Photo)

First, to beat the crowds, Anand Mohan was released in the dead of night, around 3 am, with the media earlier led to believe that he would be walking out of jail only around 11 am.

After his release, Anand Mohan drove straight to an undisclosed location in Saharsa.

Sources said the state government had directed the Saharsa administration to impress upon Anand Mohan not to carry out any procession to mark his release, and consequently not even posters were seen around town welcoming him. Anand Mohan’s wife and son are both leaders of the RJD – which is part of the Mahagathbandhan government – and Anand Mohan reportedly wanted to make a round of Saharsa town with family members and supporters.

What also appears to have forced the change in government stance was the heavy presence of media at Saharsa – eager to capture the return of one of Bihar’s most famous musclemen-politicians.

It was only close to his Pachgachhia village that there were visible signs welcoming Anand Mohan. (Express Photo)

Anand Mohan’s son and RJD MLA Chetan Anand, who briefly met the media, said his father was scheduled to visit their native village Pachgachhia, 13 km from Saharsa, next.

This set off hundreds of supporters on the road between Saharsa and Pachgachhia, seeking updates on him.

But by 5 pm, it was clear that Anand Mohan was not coming.

A supporter consoled himself, saying: “There could be security concerns as well… The kind of incident (Atiq Ahmed’s killing) that happened in Uttar Pradesh has raised alarm among public figures.”

Sources said Anand Mohan might not stay at Saharsa either and leave for Patna on Thursday night, with clear instructions by top leaders of the Mahagathbandhan to him to “completely avoid media”. Mohan is likely to leave for Dehradun via Delhi on Friday.

Over at Patna, the Bihar government fielded Chief Secretary Amir Subhani to explain the government’s stand over the release of Anand Mohan and 26 others. “Giving remission has always been a healthy precedent and it is often ratified by courts as well. In the last six years, 698 people have been released after following the standard and set process of law. As for Anand Mohan, he has spent 15 years, nine months and 25 days in jail,” said Subhani, who was accompanied at a press conference by Home Department Additional Chief Secretary Chaitanya Prasad and IG (Prisons) S K Ashok.

(Express Photo)

Reacting to opposition to the “special waiver” given to Anand Mohan, by dropping a clause in the jail manual that said accused “in murder of civil servants on duty” could not be eligible for remission before 20 years, the Chief Secretary said: “A civil servant does not mean only an IAS officer but all government employees.”

It was only close to his Pachgachhia village that there were visible signs welcoming Anand Mohan. A banner put up by ‘Friends of Anand, Bihar’ read: “Suswagatam sher-e-Bihar (welcome, lion of Bihar)”. It went on to paraphrase Earnest Hemingway, in Hindi: “Satya pareshan ho sakta hai, parajit nahin (Truth can be harassed, not defeated)”.

There were sundry vehicles carrying garlands and displaying banners of “Sher-e-Mohan”, who returned disappointed after realising Anand Mohan was not coming.

Among those waiting in welcome with a garland was Anand Mohan’s elder brother Madan Singh. He had no convincing reply for the last-minute change of plans. In fact, just in the afternoon, Chetan and his sister Surabhi had visited Pachgachhia and told villagers to keep it “a simple affair”.

That didn’t mean there couldn’t be a feast. Hence, hundreds of supporters, who had been visiting Pachgachhia since Wednesday evening, were treated to puri-subzi, ladoos and rosgullas.

Pawan Kumar Gupta, who came from a neighbouring village, said: “We wonder at those who are calling Anand Mohan anti-Dalit. My family is an EBC (extremely backward class), but we have been his supporters for three generations.”