Shahabuddin leaves Patna by train on way to Tihar

Md. Shahabuddin/File pic

Patna: Two days after the Supreme Court ordered for shifting of RJD strongman Mohd. Shahabuddin from Siwan jail to Delhi's Tihar jail, he is being taken to Delhi from Patna by Sampurna Kranti Express amid tight security, officials said on Saturday. Earlier in the day, he was brought to Patna and kept in local Beur Jail for nearly 10 hours before starting for the national capital by the evening train. Initially, the state police officials had informed that Shahabuddin would be taken to Delhi by the Rajdhani Express, but instead he was taken by Sampurna Kranti Express, probably because Rajdhani trains do not have Sleeper coaches. The criminal-turned-politician is locally known as "Bahubali". He faces 35 criminal cases, including those for murder, extortion and kidnapping, and has been convicted in seven. "Process to shift Shahabuddin from Siwan jail to Tihar Jail began on late Friday night, as a team of Special Task Force (STF), along with top district administration officials, brought him to Patna on way to Delhi," a district police officer said. Hearing the petition of Asha Ranjan, wife of slain journalist Rajdeo Ranjan, the apex court on Wednesday ordered shifting of Shahabuddin from Siwan to Tihar. Asha, a contractual teacher in a government-run school in Siwan, in her petition feared threat to her life if Shahabuddin remains in Siwan jail. Rajdeo Ranjan was the Siwan Bureau Chief of Hindi newspaper "Hindustan" -- part of the Hindustan Times Media Ltd. He was shot dead in May last year. Chandrakeshwar Prasad, father of the three sons allegedly killed by Shahabuddin's men, expressed happiness over the development. Last September after spending 11 years behind bars, Shahabuddin was released from Bihar's Bhagalpur jail. He had called Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav his leader. After the Patna High Court granted bail in a case related to the killing of a murder witness, he was finally released from prison. But after 19 days, Shahabuddin surrendered in a court in Siwan district soon after the Supreme Court cancelled his bail and was taken into custody and sent to the local jail.