As several reports claimed the death of former RJP MP Mohammad Shahabuddin due to COVID-19, Tihar jail authorities have refuted the claims of his death, reported ToI.
The Director-general of Tihar Jail said the gangster was admitted to the ICU of Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) hospital and he is undergoing treatment there. Clarification by the jail authorities came after ANI reported that the former MP died due to COVID-19.
Hours after tweeting about his death, the news agency ANI deleted a tweet reporting his death.
"CORRECTION | Tweet deleted as awaiting official confirmation. Conflicting information was provided to us from family members and RJD spokesperson confirming his passing away. Error regretted," wrote NAI on Twitter.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday had directed the AAP government and the prison authority to ensure proper medical supervision and care of Shahabuddin who is suffering from COVID-19 and admitted to DDU Hospital.
The former RJD MP, in his plea, had said that he apprehended that he would not get the proper treatment as there was a scarcity of oxygen and other medicines in Delhi.
He had also alleged that he was 'apprehending the mismanagement of his health situation at the hands of the doctors at the behest of the opposite political leaders' in Delhi.
According to the petition, he was lodged in a cell, in the high risk ward of Tihar Jail, which he was sharing with another inmate.
Despite the other inmate testing COVID-19 positive in early April, Shahabuddin was kept in the same cell with the infected inmate and 'no separate arrangement was made by the jail authorities', the petition had said.
The four-time RJD MP from Siwan is alleged to have been involved in the murder of Rajdeo Ranjan, a journalist of a prominent Hindi daily in Siwan district of the eastern state of Bihar
Rajdeo Ranjan, district bureau chief of the Hindi daily, was gunned down in 2016 and his wife had accused Shahabuddin of having a role in the killing.
(With inputs from PTI)
