By IANS
Patna : A court in Bihar Monday found guilty seven political leaders, including a legislator of the ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and two former JD-U MPs, in the murder of Gopalganj district magistrate G. Krishnaiya in December 1994.
The court will pronounce the sentence on Wednesday.
The Patna sessions court Monday afternoon convicted seven leaders, including sitting JD-U legislator Munna Shukla, two former JD-U MPs Anand Mohan Singh and his wife Lovely Anand, former legislators Akhlaq Ahmad, Arun Kumar Singh and Harendra Kumar, who unsuccessfully contested the last Lok Sabha poll on a JD-U ticket.
The much-awaited judgement came 13 years after the incident.
Soon after the conviction, the seven were taken into custody and sent to high security Beur jail here.
Official sources said the court after hearing the case found seven of the 38 accused guilty under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.
Krishnaiya was brutally shot and then stoned by an angry crowd near Khaabra village on the National Highway 28 on Dec 5, 1994, while he was returning to Gopalganj from Hajipur via Muzaffarpur after attending a meeting there.
According to the police report, the mob was led by Anand Mohan Singh. Besides, his wife Lovely Anand, Munna Shukla and Akhlaq Ahmad were also part of the mob, which comprised mainly armed henchmen and supporters of Singh.
The mob was protesting the killing of former Bihar People’s Party (BPP) leader Kaushalendra Shukla alias Chhotan Shukla.
Singh and Shukla are facing several criminal cases, including of murder, in various courts. If Singh is a terror in the Saharsa-Supaul belt, Shukla is feared in the Vaishali-Muzaffarpur belt of north Bihar.
Singh is known more for his open criticism of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Shukla is also known as one of the several ruling legislators unhappy with him.