Shahabuddin gets bail, but DM bars his entry to Siwan

The Patna High Court today granted bail to Mohammad Shahabuddin, who has been in jail for the past 18 months but the RJD’s Siwan MP has...

The Patna High Court today granted bail to Mohammad Shahabuddin, who has been in jail for the past 18 months but the RJD’s Siwan MP has been barred from entering his constituency. Siwan district magistrate C.K. Anil has ordered him out for six months.

Shahabuddin was shifted from Siwan Jail on the Election Commission’s orders which found his presence in the district an obstacle to the free conduct of elections. Senior district officials said the DM had issued the order after the MP failed to show cause why he should not be externed from Siwan.

Shahabuddin was arrested in late 2003 in three cases, under then DGP D.P. Ojha. One of these was the kidnapping and murder of Munna Choudhary, a CPI-ML activist.

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The arrest of Shahabuddin then had kicked up a political storm in the state, and no less than RJD president Laloo Prasad Yadav had visited and placated him.

Ojha was later removed as DGP of the state police after a prolonged standoff with the political executive. The MP had secured bail in two cases earlier but the Munna case was pending.