RJD strongman Shahabuddin ends ‘vanvas’, walks free after 11 years
Patna : Heena Shahab, described her husband as Ram and said Ram had returned to Ayodhya from ‘Vanwas’ after 14 years when her husband Mohammad Shahabuddin came home after remaining in jail for 11 years.
People of Siwan and Gopalganj were celebrating his homecoming like Diwali as done in Ayodhya to welcome Ram. Heena said it was return of Ramrajya. She was nearly right as crackers were burst at different places between Bhagalpur to Gopalganj, a distance of 400 kms as 40 MLAs of ruling RJD and four cabinet colleagues of Nitish Kumar were there to welcome the main accused of 49 cases of heinous crimes, including murders, loot, extortion and assault of the district SP. When Shahabuddin came out of the jail, all senior officers of Bhagalpur central jail were present to see him off and escort him to the waiting SUV which was followed by 300 vehicles carrying RJD supporters. Later, more vehicles joined his convoy at Khagaria, Muzaffarpur and RJD leaders greeted him with garlands at different places on the highway. The number of vehicles touched 1300 when it reached Gopalganj.
Shahabuddin, who was released on bail from Bhagalpur on Saturday morning following an order of Patna High Court, gave enough hints of future political equations in Bihar by declaring Lalu Prasad as the natural leader and not chief minister Nitish Kumar. Shahabuddin’s statement put the JDU and Congress, two partners in Grand Alliance in the defence as chief minister Nitish Kumar refused to react on Shahabuddin’s statement and Congress committee president and education minister Ashok Kumar Chaudhury said “Shahabuddinji has made the statement in his individual capacity.
Shahabuddin described the Bihar Excise and Prohibtion Act as draconian and Black law. He refused to work for change of his image and said he would be like this as he was for the last 26 years. He was first elected to Bihar assembly in 1990. Shahabuddin who was in Siwan, Gopalganj and Bhagalpur jails in the last 11 years was greeted by thousands of his supporters outside jail with slogans of “Sarkar is out of jail”.
Release of Shahabuddin was ordered on Thursday by High Court in the murder case of two brothers in 2004. Rajiv Lochan, third and only surviving brother and son of a Gopalganj resident Chanda Babu was killed in 2014 by his supporters at Gaya as he was the only eye witness to murder of his brothers. Two months back, correspondent of a Hindi daily was also killed at Siwan and journalist’s wife who had met the union home minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi two days back alleged her husband was gunned down on instructions of Shahabuddin. She said she would commit suicide as Shahabuddin is now out of jail.
