Shahabuddin named accused in Ranjan case
MUZAFFARPUR/PATNA: A special CBI court in Muzaffarpur on Friday named senior Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former MP Mohammad Shahabuddin as the seventh accused in the murder of Siwan journalist Rajdeo Ranjan.
The CBI has also sought an eight-day remand of the ex- MP for his interrogation, sources said. CBI lawyer AH Khan said the fact that Shahabuddin had been named as an accused meant that the probe agency had gathered conclusive evidence of his role in the conspiracy to murder Ranjan. Defence lawyer Sharad Sinha said the special court named Shahabuddin as an accused after finding that there was enough material evidence against the former MP.
CBI officials initiated the investigation against the former MP after a writ petition was filed in the Supreme Court by Asha. The top court had directed the CBI to probe the case, including the role of Shahabuddin, after hearing the wife’s petition.
CBI sources said the former MP could be interrogated in Tihar jail in New Delhi, where he is currently jailed. The evidence is of a larger conspiracy in which the MP is believed to have had a role.
Ranjan, then bureau chief of Hindi daily ‘Hindustan’, was gunned down on May 13 last year at Siwan; his wife, Asha Ranjan, later accused Shahabuddin of having a role in the killing.
Shahabuddin was produced in the court of designated CBI judge Anupam Kumari through video conferencing.
The RJD ex-MP’s name was mentioned as having a major role in the case by an accused, Mohammad Kaif, during his interrogation. Police had also investigated a series of writings of the murdered journalist in its attempt to correlate the murder.
The CBI had already filed chargesheets against five accused persons in the case. Two others — Mohammad Kaif and Javed Bhatt alias Javed Mian have been granted bails by the court as the CBI failed to file formal chargesheets against them within the deadline of 90 days.
Shahabuddin is facing trial in more than 45 cases and was moved to Tihar jail in February.