PATNA: The Supreme Court’s order on Wednesday to shift criminal-turned-politician Mohammad Shahabuddin to Tihar jail in Delhi from Bihar’s Siwan jail brought relief to the families who bore the brutal brunt of the former MP’s anger.
Chandrakeshwar Prasad alias Chandababu, a 70-year-old Siwan resident whose three sons were murdered allegedly by Shahabuddin and his men, welcomed the apex court’s order.
Asha Ranjan, the Siwan-based widow of journalist Rajdeo Ranjan who was shot dead in May 2016, said she felt relieved by the top court’s order. She had lodged an FIR in December 2016 saying she had received phone calls with death threats from Dubai, allegedly at the behest of the former RJD parliamentarian, asking her to stop pursuing the prosecution case.
The Supreme Court, which passed the order on a petition filed by Chandababu, asked Bihar’s Nitish Kumar-led alliance government to complete Shahabuddin’s transfer to Tihar jail in a week. Shahabuddin, who was convicted to life imprisonment in 2015 for killing two of Chandababu’s sons, had argued that shifting him out of Bihar would violate his fundamental rights, but the top court rejected that contention.
“This is a very good order by the Supreme Court. The people of Siwan will feel now free and as he will not be in the town,” said Chandababu. “This man (Shahabuddin) is such a person that he should be lodged in jail for his entire life.”
Asha Ranjan said, “This order brings a lot of relief to me. I will feel safer than I do now. This verdict is in the best interest of free and fair trial”.
After spending 11 years behind the bars, Shahabuddin had come out of Siwan jail in September 2016 after Patna High Court granted him bail in a murder case on September 7, 2016, but the Supreme Court cancelled the bail on October 1, 2016 and he was put back in jail. The apex court’s latest order, passed by Justices Dipak Misra and Amitabh Roy, said trial of the pending cases against him would be conducted via video conferencing.
“We have received a copy of the Supreme Court’s order. Arrangements will be made to shift him to Tihar jail in a week,” said Siwan superintendent of police Saurabh Kumar Shah. Meanwhile, police in the western Bihar town beefed up security at Chandababu’s house.
Leaders of the three parties in Bihar’s ruling alliance – JD (U), RJD and Congress – declined to comment on the SC order, while the Opposition BJP leaders said the development was in recognition of the fact that fair trial was impossible in Bihar.
Selfies taken by the four-time RJD MP with a mobile phone inside Siwan jail had gone viral last month, exposing his access to mobile phones and other luxuries not allowed to prisoners. An FIR was lodged against him in the case. Shahabuddin is already facing trial in more than 36 criminal cases involving murder, extortion and abduction.