Patna, Muzaffarpur: The CBI on Tuesday filed more charges against former Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Mohammad Shahabuddin in connection with the murder of Bihar-based journalist Rajdeo Ranjan, an official said.
Shahabuddin, who was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at the end of May, is now lodged in Tihar Jail in Delhi.
The probe agency filed the chargesheet in a special CBI court in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur under charges of criminal conspiracy, murder and arms act.
The former MP was on May 26 named by the CBI as one of the 10 accused in the murder of Ranjan, who hailed from Bihar’s Siwan district.
Sunil Singh Rawat, the investigating officer of the case, and public prosecutor Deep Narayan submitted the charge sheet against Shahabuddin, a four-time MP from Siwan, and six others before CBI judge Anupam Kumari.
Defence lawyer Sharad Sinha said the other accused against whom the agency has filed the charge sheet are Azahruddin Beig alias Laddan Mian, Rishi Kumar Jaiswal, Rohit Kumar Soni, Vijay Kumar Gupta, Ranjeet Kumar and Sonu Kumar Gupta.
This is a supplementary charge sheet by the CBI as the agency had filed its earlier charge sheet against one accused in December, 2016.
Bihar Police had charge sheeted six people in the case before the probe was taken over by the agency. A total of eight accused have been charge-sheeted so far in the case.
The case was handed over to the CBI in September last year after the slain journalist’s widow Asha Ranjan and his father Radhe Krishna Chaudhary repeatedly alleged that Shahabuddin was behind the murder.
The suspicion over Shahbuddin’s involvement deepened after names of two of his henchmen, Mohammad Kaif and Mohammad Javed, surfaced during investigation.
A chargesheet has been filed against six of the accused. Javed and Kaif are on bail and Shahabuddin has been made the 10th accused.
Police in Bihar had earlier claimed that the murder was the result of “premediated conspiracy”.
Informed sources claimed that Rajdeo Ranjan had become a “threat” for criminals because of his news reports against the deteriorating law and order condition in Siwan.
Shahabuddin was in jail when the journalist was gunned down in Siwan while returning from office on May 13, 2016.
Shahabuddin, facing 39 criminal cases including those of kidnapping and murder, was shifted to Tihar Jail on February 18.
Defence lawyer Sharad Sinha said the other accused against whom the agency has filed the charge sheet are Azahruddin Beig alias Laddan Mian, Rishi Kumar Jaiswal, Rohit Kumar Soni, Vijay Kumar Gupta, Ranjeet Kumar and Sonu Kumar Gupta.
This is a supplementary charge sheet by the CBI as the agency had filed its earlier charge sheet against one accused in December, 2016.
Bihar Police had charge sheeted six people in the case before the probe was taken over by the agency. A total of eight accused have been charge-sheeted so far in the case.
Shahabuddin is facing trial in more than 45 criminal cases. He was moved to the Tihar Jail in February this year on a Supreme Court order on a plea by Siwan native Chandrakeshwar Prasad whose three sons were killed in two separate incidents.
Rajdeo Ranjan, district bureau chief of the Hindi daily, was gunned down on May 13 last year and his wife had accused Shahabuddin of having a role in the killing.
