AP News, October 3rd, 2007
A court on Wednesday condemned a former lawmaker to death for his role in a 1994 murder of a government official, the first time a member of India's parliament has received a capital sentence.
Anand Mohan and two other politicians were sentenced to hang for their role in the attack, a case that highlighted the connection between underworld crime and politics in rural India.
Four others, including Mohan's wife, Lovely Anand _ also a former member of parliament _ were sentenced to life in prison by the court in Patna, the capital of Bihar state.
Bihar is one of several Indian states where politics is dominated by local strongmen who often use violence to intimidate rivals. Many lawmakers in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh states are facing criminal charges, including murder and kidnapping.
Under Indian law, only those convicted of a crime are prohibited from running for office. With India's backlogged legal system, such convictions often take years.
Mohan was convicted of leading a mob that pulled senior government official G. Krishnaiah out of his car and beat him unconscious before shooting him to death because the official's car had inadvertently crossed paths with the funeral procession of a noted underworld don and aspiring politician, Chottan Shukla.
Shukla's supporters held the state government responsible for his death after he was gunned down by unknown assailants. Shukla was a member of Mohan's now-defunct Bihar Peoples Party.
After the sentence, Mohan denied inciting the crowd to kill Krishnaiah, saying it was out of control and that more than a dozen police officers were present. "What could I have done?" he asked reporters.
