G. Krishnaiah Wiki, Age, Caste, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

G. Krishnaiah (1957-1994) was an Indian Administrative Service officer of the 1985 Bihar cadre. He was killed in December 1994 in Bihar by a mob. G. Krishnaiah hit the headlines in April 2023 after the Bihar government made amends in the Bihar Police Jail Manual 2012, which led to the release of Anand Mohan Singh, a politician, who was convicted by the court of law for Krishnaiah’s murder in 2007.

Wiki/Biography

G. Krishnaiah was born on Friday, 8 February 1957 (age 37 years; at the time of death) in Byrapuram village, Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, India. His zodiac sign is Aquarius. After completing his schooling, Krishnaiah enrolled at Maharani Adi Lakshmi Devamma (M.A.L.D) Government Arts and Science Degree College in Gadwal, Telangana, where he pursued a bachelor’s degree in science in botany and secured first division. Thereafter, he enrolled at Osmania University in Hyderabad, where he earned a master’s of arts in English literature and secured second division.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 6″

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Dark Brown

Family & Caste

G. Krishnaiah was born into a Telugu-speaking lower-middle-class family belonging to the Dalit (Scheduled Castes) community in Andhra Pradesh.

Parents & Siblings

His father, G Seshanna, worked as a porter. He passed away in 1991. His mother, Venkamma (deceased), was a homemaker. His elder brother’s name is Ayyanna Krishnaiah.

Wife & Children

His wife, Uma Krishnaiah, is a teacher. He got married to her after completing his training at LBSNAA in 1986. His elder daughter, Niharika Krishnaiah, is a banker. His younger daughter, Padma Krishnaiah, is a software engineer.

Relationships/Affairs

G. Krishnaiah started dating Uma when they both were studying at Maharani Adi Lakshmi Devamma (M.A.L.D) Government Arts and Science Degree College in Gadwal.

Career

Early Struggles

G. Krishnaiah used to work as a porter with his father at a railway station in Andhra Pradesh to support his family financially. Despite facing monetary constraints, he continued his studies by working as daily wage labour in the day and attending school in the evening. According to G. Krishnaiah, he financed his education by himself and never asked for a single penny from his parents. Upon completing his formal education, he began working as a clerk in a government office. Thereafter, he left his job to pursue a career in journalism and worked with many local newspapers in Andhra Pradesh. Later, he left journalism and took up a job as an English lecturer at a college. While serving as a teacher, G. Krishnaiah started preparing for the Civil Services Exam held by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). In 1985, he appeared for the UPSC exams and managed to clear it on his first attempt. In an interview, Krishnaiah’s friend said that Krishnaiah opted for the Bihar cadre as he was moved by the condition of the people living in the backward areas and wanted to help them.

IAS

G. Krishnaiah joined the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in 1985 in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, where he completed his administrative training in 1987. His first posting was in West Champaran, where he worked as an assistant collector. There, he aided the state government in implementing numerous land reform acts. According to several sources, Krishnaiah received life threats from land mafias who were against the implementation of such acts. Despite the obstructions created by the mafias, he worked for the upliftment of the poor and became a popular figure in West Champaran. Thereafter, he was posted to the Nalanda district as an assistant collector. Later, he was sent to Hazaribagh, where he assumed the post of Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM). Thereafter, he went to Bettiah, where he served as a District Magistrate (DM). On 1 September 1987, he was posted to the Department of Land Revenue Management & District Administration as an assistant collector. Later, he was promoted and made an Additional District Magistrate (ADM) in the same department; he remained in the post till 1 August 1989. From 1 August 1989 to 1 December 1989, he served in the Bihar government’s Home Ministry as a joint secretary. On 1 December 1989, he was appointed as the Deputy Development Commissioner (DDC) in the Department of Land Revenue Management & District Administration, a post that he held till 1 April 1992.

He served as a District Magistrate (DM) in the Department of Land Revenue Management & District Administration in the Saharsa district from 1 April 1992 to 1 December 1994. Later, Krishnaiah was transferred to Gopalganj as a District Magistrate (DM).

Death

On 5 December 1994, G. Krishnaiah was on his way to Gopalganj from Hajipur after attending a meeting when his vehicle was stopped by a mob near the Muzaffarpur highway. The mob, which was attending the funeral procession of a dreaded gangster and BPP member Chottan Shukla began pelting stones at Krishnaiah’s car and dragged Krishnaiah’s gunman out of the car. When Krishnaiah stepped out of his vehicle to calm the rioters down, he was dragged and beaten mercilessly by them. Krishanaiah was killed by Chottan’s younger brother Bhutkun Shukla after he shot the IAS officer thrice in the head. While giving an interview, his driver, Deepak, narrated the harrowing incident and said,

We were coming back from Hajipur in 1994 after a meeting when a violent juloos (mob) attacked us. The mob first pulled out Krishnaiah sir’s bodyguard from the ambassador. I didn’t stop the car and tried to speed past the crowd. But sir asked me to stop the car because he wanted to save the bodyguard who was left behind. As soon as I stopped the car, the mob attacked us. They beat me up so badly that I developed a hearing disability. That was the last time I saw G Krishnaiah sir. I managed to run for my life. After some time, when I came back, I saw sir lying lifeless in the pit. We took him to the hospital later on.”

A photo of the village where G. Krishnaiah was killed

Aftermath

After Krishnaiah was killed, the Bihar government ordered the police to begin an investigation into the matter following which the police registered a case against Anand Mohan Singh and his wife Lovely Anand. Later, the cops presented a video graphic evidence in the Patna District Court in which Anand and Lovely were seen instigating the crowd to riot against the then DM and SP of Muzaffarpur during the funeral procession of Chottan Shukla. On 3 October 2007, the district court gave its judgement in which it handed out the death penalty to Anand following which he was sent to the Beur Central Jail from where he was later transferred to the Bhagalpur Central Jail. In 2008, Anand appealed against the decision of the district court at Patna High Court (PHC) and got his death sentence commuted to life imprisonment.

In 2012, Anand appealed to the Supreme Court, seeking a reduction in the jail term; however, the apex court quashed his plea. In the same year, the Government of Bihar filed litigation against the decision of the Patna High Court in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the PHC and refused to turn down the judgement given by the PHC earlier. In April 2023, the Bihar legislature made some amendments to the Bihar Police Jail Manuals 2012 following which the Law department of the state government issued a notification to the jail authorities on 24 April 2023 informing them about the early release of Anand Mohan Singh and 26 other prisoners, serving a life sentence in different jails across Bihar, on 27 April 2023. The notification stated,

In the light of the Bihar state sentence remission council meeting on April 20, 2023, the decision was taken for the release of prisoners having served actual sentence of 14 years or sentence of 20 years with remission.”

Following the notification, the Bihar government received massive criticisms from numerous politicians including the BSP supremo Mayawati who, in her statement, said,

In my entire career, I have never gone through such a change in the jail manual; this is unprecedented, not only in Bihar but in India as well. I am going to challenge the amendment in Patna High Court through PIL, my lawyer is already drafting the petition. I was trying to convince Ms. Uma Krishnaiah, the widow of G. Krishnaiah to file a PIL against the amendment but she was threatened by Anand Mohan’s gang and she refused to come to Bihar. Anand Mohan should be back at Saharsa jail. Any amendment should be in public interest rather than for any individual. He is not Nelson Mandela. Anand Mohan has committed a cold blooded murder of a serving IAS officer. To save a murderer, Nitish Kumar is amending the rule which is mala fide. It will not stand in the court.”

Following the issuing of the instructions, the killed IAS officer’s wife Uma urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in the matter. The IAS association also wrote a letter to Nitish Kumar requesting him to put a stay on the order. The association in its statement said that it was in touch with G. Krishnaiah’s family to explore legal options for rendering the Bihar government’s orders null and void. While giving an interview, Uma said,

Nitish Kumar is setting a horrible precedent by releasing a person convicted of murder. It will embolden criminals to attack government officials because they know they can easily get out of prison. For just a few Rajput votes, he has taken a decision that has so many consequences for the common people. The Rajput community should think over this – whether they want a criminal like Anand Mohan to represent them in politics.”

Facts/Trivia

• After G. Krishaniah’s death, a statue was erected by the Bihar government in his memory at the Gopalganj collectorate.

  A statue of G. Krishnaiah erected by the Government of Bihar at the Gopalpur collectorate

• Since his family did not have money, G. Krishnaiah was sent to live in a community hostel when he was a child.

• While giving an interview, G. Krishnaiah’s friend IPS officer Abhayanand said that Krishnaiah used to avoid having food with influential personalities as he believed that eating at someone’s house would bound him to listen to them.

• G. Krishnaiah was a polyglot. He was fluent in Telugu, Hindi, English, and Kannada.

• He passionately followed his hobby of reading. According to his relative, Krishnaiah had a room filled with books.

• G. Krishnaiah was greatly inspired by the teachings of Swami Vivekananda.