Jailed former RJD MP Mohammad Shahabuddin, 53, died of COVID-19 at the Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Hospital here on Saturday, the Delhi Prisons Department said.
Shahabuddin, who was serving a life sentence in a murder case, was admitted to the hospital on April 20, it said.
Director General (Prisons) Sandeep Goel said, "Information has been received from DDU Hospital about the death of Mohd Shahabuddin, an inmate of Delhi Prisons. He was suffering from COVID-19." Prison officials said Shahabuddin was admitted to the ICU two three days ago.
The former Siwan MP was lodged in high-security jail number 2 at Tihar, they said.
Earlier this week, the Delhi High Court had directed the AAP government and prison authorities to ensure proper medical supervision and care of Shahabuddin.
Here's all you need to know about the gangster turned politician
One of the most dreaded criminals of not just Bihar but north India, Mohammad Shahabuddin's rise in both politics and crime was meteoric. After being elected as an independent legislator at a young age in the early 1990s, Shahabuddin saw his fortunes rise as Lalu Yadav ruled Bihar for 15 years. After being given an RJD ticket from Siwan, Shahabuddin won the Siwan Lok Sabha constituency, a BJP stronghold, for the first time in 1996. He went on to win the seat again in 1998, 1999 and 2004. Such was his terror in the region that many parties were afraid to field candidates against him. And if they did, many candidates feared to openly campaign.
Over the years, Shahabuddin was accused of carrying out various criminal activities, including murder, kidnappings and extortions.
On December 9, 2015, a special judge in Bihar's Siwan convicted Shahabuddin and his associates in a 2004 double murder case and sentenced them to life imprisonment.
Two brothers, Satish and Girish Roshan, were murdered in August 2004 in Siwan for allegedly refusing to pay extortion money.
A third brother, Rajiv Roshan, who was an eyewitness to the crime committed by Shahabuddin's men, was shot dead on June 6, 2014 when he was on his way to a trial court to depose against the strongman.
The conviction and sentencing of Shahabuddin and three others were eventually upheld by the Patna High Court and the Supreme Court.
The former Rashtriya Janata Dal leader was shifted to Tihar from Siwan jail following a Supreme Court order on February 15, 2018.
(With inputs from agencies)
