Vijay Kumar, also known as Munna Shukla, was given a life sentence by the Supreme Court for the 1998 murder of former minister Brijbihari Prasad. Nobody, not even Munna’s new lover RJD, is quitting yet.
A decades-long saga of rivalry and violence in Bihar’s badlands took a new turn on Thursday as the Supreme Court upheld the life sentence of former MLA Vijay Kumar Shukla, alias Munna Shukla, for the 1998 murder of ex-Bihar minister Brijbihari Prasad. The court dismissed Shukla’s appeal against its October 2024 ruling, granting him 15 days to surrender.
The sensational killing of Prasad, a prominent RJD leader, at Patna’s Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences in June 1998, marked a bloody chapter in the feud between the Shukla brothers—Chhotan, Bhutkun, and Munna—and Prasad. The CBI took over the case in 1999, and in 2009, a Patna court sentenced Shukla and five others to life. Last October, the Supreme Court convicted Shukla and politician Mantu Tiwari, while acquitting others. On Thursday, it found “no good ground” to review the verdict.
Shukla’s criminal history extends beyond this case. He was also convicted in the 1994 lynching of Gopalganj DM G Krishnaiah but was acquitted by the Patna High Court in 2008. Former MP Anand Mohan, another accused in the case, had his death sentence commuted to life and was released in 2023, a decision currently under challenge in the Supreme Court.
The Shukla-Prasad Rivalry
The story began in the 1970s in Lalganj, Vaishali, where the Bhumihar Shukla brothers, starting as petty contractors, forged a bond with Prasad, an OBC contractor from Motihari. Their camaraderie was so strong that Prasad’s wife, Rama Devi, tied a rakhi to Chhotan Shukla. However, as both groups amassed wealth and influence through government contracts, their alliance soured.
By 1982, the Shuklas and Prasad were locked in a turf war. A retired Muzaffarpur police officer recalled, “They targeted each other’s supporters, leading to several killings between 1983 and 1985, though no FIRs were filed.” Initially, both enjoyed the patronage of Congress leader Raghunath Pandey, but when Prasad defied Pandey, Chhotan gained favor, consolidating upper-caste support.
Prasad, aligning with the RJD, became an MLA and minister in 1990 under Lalu Prasad, intensifying efforts to curb the Shuklas’ influence. The feud escalated with Chhotan’s murder in 1994, an unsolved case closed in 2020. Bhutkun took over but was killed in 1997 by a bodyguard allegedly planted by rivals. In 1998, Munna Shukla was accused of orchestrating Prasad’s murder, alongside mafia don Sriprakash Shukla and others. Sriprakash was killed in 1998, and while a 2009 conviction sentenced the accused to life, the Patna High Court acquitted them in 2014.
Politics and Power
The Shuklas and Prasad’s families leveraged their influence in politics. In 1995, Chhotan’s widow, Kiran Shukla, contested the Kesaria seat but lost. Munna won the Lalganj Assembly seat in 2005 with JD(U) and, after his 2009 conviction, his wife Annu retained it in 2010 as an Independent. Ironically, Munna later joined the RJD, contesting the 2024 Vaishali Lok Sabha polls but losing. He hopes for an RJD ticket in the upcoming Assembly elections.
Rama Devi, Prasad’s widow, won the Sheohar MP seat in 2009, 2014, and 2019 with the BJP but was denied a ticket in 2024, which went to JD(U)’s Lovely Anand, wife of Anand Mohan, who won.
A Continuing Saga
RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari hinted at further legal battles, saying, “Munna Shukla will explore more legal options.” With both families entrenched in Bihar’s political landscape, the Shukla-Prasad feud, marked by violence and electoral contests, shows no signs of fading, even as Munna faces the prospect of life behind bars.
