Mishra killed for securing release of Prabhat Sarkar: Court

The bid to secure the release of Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar, founder of Anand Marg Parcharak Sangh who was lodged in jail in 1971 in connection with a murder case, led to the assassination of then Railway Minister Lalit Narayan Mishra, a Delhi court today said.
The court, which awarded life term to the four convicts, including three Ananda Margas, said in its 1090-page verdict that conspiracy to eliminate Mishra was hatched to pressure the government to release Sarkar from jail and the convicts along with others participated in it.
It said that the conspiracy started in October 1973 at the house of accused Ram Kumar, who was declared as a proclaimed offender by the court later, at Trimohan village in Bhagalpur district in Bihar where two of the convicts, Santoshanand and Sudevanand, were present.

"In the said meeting, it was agreed to secure release of Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar alias Anand Murti by resorting to violent acts, by procuring arms and ammunition and to commit murder of Madhavanand (who had turned approver in the case against Sarkar), L N Mishra, Abdul Gaffoor (then CM of Bihar), officers of CBI...," district judge Vinod Goel said.
The court noted in its verdict that after all the efforts of Sarkar's followers to get him released on bail failed, they wanted their 'guru' to come out of the prison by hook or crook for which they resorted to unconstitutional methods.

It said that his followers staged protests to pressure the state and central governments and even went to the extent of "self-immolations" to get him released from jail.
"When they failed by all their means, the followers of the cult known as Anand Marg consisting of several wings and cadres including monks known as Avadhoots, who don saffron clothes, showing separate and distinct identity of their personality by growing beards, unkempt hair and adhering to special code of dress and conduct, have resorted to the means not known to the law," the court observed.