Controversial Release of Anand Mohan Singh Highlights Criminal Influence in Bihar

Anand Mohan Singh, an Indian legislator who was serving a life sentence for the murder of a top civil servant in 1994, has been released from prison after the Bihar state government dropped a clause from its jail manual. Singh had been convicted of inciting a mob to attack and shoot the official. The decision has been criticised by opposition politicians, activists and citizens, with many comparing Singh's release with last August's decision by the Gujarat government to set free convicts in the notorious gangrape of a Muslim woman and murder of her family during deadly 2002 religious riots.