Nitish Kumar might use Crime Control Act to jail Shahbuddin

The state government may send back Mohammad Shahbuddin to jail by exercising Crime Control Act (CCA) on the grounds that he may influence witnesses that in connection with the murder of Rajiv Ranjan, a prime witness in the murder of his two brothers Girish Raj and Satish Raj. The brothers had been murdered in Siwan in August 2004. CCA is invoked on the ground that an accused could influence trial.

The matter came up for discussion during a high-level meeting of JD(U) in Patna on Monday and chief minister Nitish Kumar has sought advocate general‘s advice on the issue. The chief minister has also taken serious note of the statements and issued raised by members of the RJD during and after release of Shahbuddin.

The chief minister was upset over the embarrassment being faced by the government over bail to Shahabuddin. “Such statements are not good for the health of alliance so we would like Lalu Yadav to intervene. None of the JD U) leaders has said anything against the RJD till now. So RJD should also maintain dignity,” Senior JD(U) leader and minister Bijendra Yadav said after the meeting on Monday.

Mr Kumar is also disappointed over the manner in which Shahabuddin and other RJD leaders have launched a frontal attack on him.

Shahbuddin, a national executive member of the RJD, had declared Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar “a leader without mass appeal” and had also called him “chief minister of circumstances”. His statements were later backed by senior RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh. Sources said JD(U) members were also not happy about the show of strength by Shahbuddin and his men after his release from jail on Saturday. As per an estimate, more than 1,000 SUVs escorted him back to Siwan.

A delegation of BJP led by Sushil Kumar Modi on Monday also met and submitted a memorandum to governor Ram Nath Kovind, seeking his immediate interference into the Shahbuddin’s matter.

Raising safety issues of witnesses, including Rajiv Roshan’s parents, the BJP leader said that the state government must provide security to “parents of victims who are scared that they might get killed by Shahbuddin’s men”.

Parents of three brothers Satish, Girish and Rajiv Roshan who were allegedly killed by Shahbuddin and his men had earlier said that they may face the same fate as their sons. They said, “We have no support in Siwan but cannot leave the place as we have nowhere else to go. We can only pray for our safety as we didn’t get justice”.

Reiterating that the bail was “state managed” Sushil Kumar Modi said that, “despite court’s order to complete hearing within nine months the state government deliberately didn’t let trial begin in the murder of Rajiv Roshan case”.

The BJP is planning to organise a massive dharna to pressurise the state government to approach Supreme Court against Shahbuddin’s bail.