The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday named former Rashtriya Janaata Dal legislator Mohammad Shahabuddin as an accused in the murder of a Bihar journalist. Shahabuddin is currently involved in several pending cases, and is in Tihar Jail now in connection with a separate murder.
Bihar journalist Rajdev Ranjan was shot dead last year. The local police have said that Ranjan’s killing was pre-meditated. He was the bureau chief of a Hindi newspaper in Siwan. Ranjan’s wife Asha had said several times that Shahabuddin was involved in the shooting.
Five people had been arrested for the murder soon after it had taken place. Bihar’s Additional Director General of Police, Sunil Kumar, had said the five men were hired by a contract killer affiliated with Shahabuddin. He was known as Laddan Mian, The Indian Express reported.
Shahabuddin has often been linked with former Bihar Chief Minister and RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav. The Bharatiya Janata Party had recently demanded an investigation into Yadav’s connection with Shahabuddin while the latter is in jail.
In February this year, Shahabuddin had been moved from a Siwan jail to Delhi’s Tihar Jail. He is currently accused in 45 cases, including Ranjan’s murder.
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