Release of Saharsa's strongman exposes caste fault lines in Bihar

Mohan's release has also exposed the fault lines within both the ruling and Opposition parties

Former Member of Parliament (MP) Anand Mohan stepped out of Saharsa Jail early Thursday morning. He quietly sat in the rear seat of a sport utility vehicle, which sped away to Patna. It took the gangster-turned-politician 15 years and a change in prison rule by the state government to walk free again.

Mohan was convicted for his role in the 1994 murder of the then Gopalganj District Magistrate and Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer G Krishnaiah. A lower court sentenced him to death in October 2007 and the Patna High Court (HC) commuted it to life imprisonment in December 2008.