Bihar’s don-turned-politician Mohammad Shahabuddin was seen in the company of Mohammad Kaif, an alleged sharp shooter who has been named in the murder of Journalist Rajdeo Ranjan. While he was giving his assessment of chief minister Nitish Kumar’s government after stepping out of prison, Kaif was spotted by his side.
Photographs and video footage from that day are now being circulated which clearly show Kaif greeting the mafia and being a part of his convoy. Incidentally, he is wanted by police in the murder of a senior journalist Rajdeo Ranjan in May this year, and has been on the run ever since.
“What more proof do you need on how close Shahabuddin is to the killers of Rajdeo Ranjan?” asked the BJP’s Sushil Modi, Leader of Opposition in the Bihar assembly on Wednesday.
He is not the only one, soon after the journalist’s murder, another man named Upendra Singh was arrested and he also shares ties with Shahabuddin.
All of this put together may affirm to what the opposition calls as “return of the jungle raj” and the opposition party has met the state’s governor to protest against the grant of bail to Shahabuddin. It links the relief for the former lawmaker with the influence of his party chief Lalu Yadav in the state government.
The BJP was Nitish Kumar’s partner when Mohammad Shahabuddin went to jail in 2005 and Nitish Kumar is credited with ending his reign of terror in Siwan and his government opposed bail in every case against Shahabuddin, who faces nearly 40 criminal cases.
