Shahabuddin gets 2-year jail in assault case

Siwan, Mar 02:

A special Bihar court on Friday sentenced Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Mohammed Shahabuddin to two years' imprisonment a day after he was convicted in a case related to assaulting and abducting a political activist in Siwan in 1988. Shahabuddin had abducted CPI-ML secretary Keshav Baitha in Siwan, about 150 km from Patna, in 1998. The court also slapped a fine of Rs.1,000 on him. This is not the first conviction for Shahabuddin, who faces charges in over 40 criminal cases of murder, abduction and possession of illegal arms and stolen vehicles. A Lok Sabha member from Siwan since 1996, he is currently lodged in Siwan jail. The special court convicted him on the basis of circumstantial evidence, public prosecutor Ravilas Mahto told newspersons here. The hearing in the case was concluded Feb 26. According to a police complaint lodged on Oct 7, 1998 by Baitha, the RJD MP along with his 20 unidentified supporters attacked the party's office in Siwan and ransacked it. The complainant said Shahabuddin had beaten and abducted him for several hours. Shahabuddin was charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act for voluntarily causing hurt, wrongful restraint, wrongful confinement and house trespass. He was arrested in New Delhi over a year ago in a case related to the seizure of arms from his ancestral house in Siwan district. Last month, the Patna High Court had directed that a special court constituted by the state government in Siwan Jail would try all pending cases against him. Following the verdict, the CPI-ML demanded the cancellation of Shahabuddin's Lok Sabha membership. The party also challenged RJD chief and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad to take action against Shahabuddin. “We demand that the Lok Sabha speaker cancel Shahabuddin's membership on the ground of conviction in a criminal case,” the CPI-ML state secretary Ramjatan Sharma told newspersons here. “We will demand Lalu Prasad to oust Shahabuddin from the RJD,” he added. Welcoming the judegment, Sharma said it was a big day for his party that had been fighting against Shahabuddin's "muscle power" in Siwan. "It is for the first time he has been convicted by a court," Sharma said.