The Supreme Court in a significant judgement today ordered for immediate shifting of controversial Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) politician Mohammad Shahabuddin to high-security Tihar Jail in Delhi.

The former parliamentarian who faces over 50 criminal cases pending against him is currently lodged in his hometown Siwan prison of Bihar.

The apex court delivered its judgement in response to two petitions filed by Asha Ranjan, wife of journalist Rajdeo Ranjan who was shot dead by motorcycle-borne criminals in May last year, and Chandrakeshwar Prasad whose three sons were killed in cold blood. In both cases, Shahabuddin was accused of hatching the murder conspiracy from behind bars.

The top court asked the Bihar government to ensure shifting of Shahabuddin within a week while also announcing that the pending trial in the cases against the criminal-turned-politician be done through video-conferencing.

“The court ordered for immediate shifting of Shahabuddin to Tihar Jail after admitting the plea of the petitioners that keeping the accused in Siwan jail was not good for society as well as witnesses,” a senior advocate Prashant Bhushan told media today.

The noose tightened against the mighty politician after the petitioners moved the SC in September last year soon after Shahabuddin was granted bail by the Patna High Court. Although Shahabuddin got himself back in the jail soon after his bail was cancelled by the Supreme Court when the Bihar state government moved an appeal, the petitioners still refused to take back their petition. Their contention was that a fair trial in the cases was not possible as long as the RJD leader was lodged in the jail in his hometown where he wields considerable political clout.

The entire case took a new twist In December last when the slain journalist’s widow received murder threats on phone twice from an unknown caller after which she registered a case with local police. According to her, the caller asked her to immediately withdraw her case against Shahabuddin failing which she too would be eliminated.

“There has been too much of drama (over the murder). Now just withdraw the case from Supreme Court lest you will be chopped into pieces,” the victim said about the call in her complaint petition. The calls were reportedly made from Dubai.

The incident came to light shortly before the supreme court was to hear her petition seeking shifting of Shahabuddin to Delhi’s Tihar Jail from Siwan jail so that the witnesses in her husband’s murder case are not influenced.

The murder case is currently being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the probe is learnt to have reached the final stage. Ranjan, a senior journalist, was killed in cold blood in May last year and his widow accuses Shahabuddin of plotting his murder.

It may be mentioned that Chandrakeshwar Prasad had also moved the SC after his three sons were allegedly killed by henchmen of Shahabuddin. While two sons were killed in August 2004 by giving them an acid bath, his third son who was a lone witness in the twin murders was killed in June 2014. In both cases, Shahabuddin was made the accused. In the acid bath case, the local court has even handed out life imprisonment to Shahabuddin

source : gulfnews