CBI spl court issues warrant against ex-MP Shahabuddin

MUZAFFARPUR: The special CBI court of north Bihar at Muzaffarpur here on Monday, issued a production warrant against former MP of Siwan and senior leader of RJD Md Shahabuddin in a case, pertaining to murder of bureau chief of Hindi daily ‘Hindustan’ Rajdeo Ranjan at Siwan in May last year.

The court asked CBI officials to produce the former MP through video conferencing on May 26 . Shahabuddin is lodged in the high security Tihar jail as per a Supreme Court ruling on an appeal from Ranjan’s widow and other complainants.

His name had figured prominently in the killing of Rajdeo after one of the main accused Kaif revealed the RJD leader’s name during interrogation.

Hearing a petition for production warrant, filed by a DSP- rank investigating officer, the court of special CBI judge Anupam Kumar granted the order.

Court sources told HT that the investigation officer of the case, Sunil Singh Rawat, urged the court for grant of warrant. “Rawat, in his petition, has written that the investigating team has collected sufficient evidence. Hence, the court should grant a production warrant against Shahabuddin for interrogation,” sources said.

However, the legal councillor of all the accused in the case, advocate Sharad Sinha said, the case was first taken to the special CBI court at Muzaffarpur on September 15, 2016, while Ranjan’s killing was primarily registered with town police station of Siwan the same day he was killed.

Notably, two of the seven accused in the case, Md Kaif alias Bunty and Javed Bhatt alias Javed Mian, were granted bail by the court as the CBI failed to file formal chargesheets within 90 days.