Brij Behari Prasad

Brij Behari Prasad was born in 1950 in Bihar, India. He belonged to the Bania community and was a prominent leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), then known as Janata Dal. He started his political career as a student leader and rose to become a minister in the state government. He was known for his muscleman image and his influence in several districts of Bihar. He was a close aide of Lalu Prasad Yadav, the chief minister of Bihar and the president of RJD. He served as the minister of science and technology in the government of Rabri Devi, the wife of Lalu Prasad Yadav who became the chief minister after her husband was arrested on corruption charges. He was also the energy minister in the previous Janata Dal government. He was popular among the backward castes and had a loyal following in his constituency. He was arrested for his alleged involvement in corrupt admissions to technical institutes and was undergoing treatment at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) in Patna. On 13 June 1998, he was shot dead by four gunmen who entered his ward disguised as policemen. The assailants escaped after killing him and injuring two policemen who were guarding him. It was claimed that his murder was a revenge for his role in the killing of Chhottan Shukla, a gangster from the Bhumihar community, who was gunned down along with five others on 4 December 1994. Shukla was a rival of Prasad and had threatened to kill him several times. His murder sparked off violent protests and riots in Patna and other parts of Bihar. His supporters blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies for orchestrating his killing and demanded a CBI inquiry into the case. The RJD government announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to his family and declared a three-day state mourning. His body was cremated with full state honors in Patna. He is remembered as one of the most powerful and controversial politicians of Bihar who had a strong hold over his region. His life and death have been depicted in several books and films.