The Ara MP/MLA court on February 13 sentenced Manoj Manzil, MLA of the Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist (CPI-ML) from the Agiaon Assembly constituency to life imprisonment in a nine-year-old murder case. Along with Mr. Manzil, 22 others have also been sentenced to life imprisonment in the case related to the murder of one J.P. Singh during the 2015 Assembly election in Bihar. The court also imposed a fine of ₹10,000 on Manzil.
Manzil, a 40-year-old firebrand Dalit leader, was a first-time MLA, who won by defeating Janata Dal-United (JD-U) candidate Prabhunath Prasad in the 2020 Bihar Assembly election. In the 2015 Assembly election, too, he had contested from the same seat to secure the third position.
Soon after Judge Satyendra Singh pronounced the verdict, Mr. Manzil and others were taken into custody by the police at the Ara court, where he had reached along with hundreds of his supporters. Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) (Liberation) MLA from the Tarari Assembly constituency, Sudama Prasad, was also present to meet him.
The case pertains to a public meeting of the CPI(ML) in Badgaon village under the Azeembad Police Station in Bhojpur district, when the sudden news that party worker Satish Yadav had been murdered was followed by the retaliatory killing of farmer J.P. Singh. Manzil was one of the 23 persons accused in the case.
With the image of a crusader, Manzil’s ‘Sadak pe school’ (school on the road) movement to expose the deteriorating education system in Bihar is believed to have inspired several primary education schemes of the Nitish Kumar-led State government.
The convicts were taken to jail from court. Manzil’s advocate said he would appeal against the order in a higher court. In accordance with the Supreme Court’s order, MPs and MLAs are disqualified immediately upon conviction.
