It was not just his life, but even the days leading up to the death of former RJD MP Mohammad Shahabuddin entailed denial, conflicting reports and court orders. The former Rashtriya Janata Dal leader passed away on Saturday with Covid infection at a hospital in Delhi. While earlier the Tihar jail authorities had refuted the circulating rumours about his death, DG (Tihar) Sandeep Goel finally confirmed the news to media.
Demise a few days after the court orders
Shahabuddin was diagnosed with Covid-19 on April 20 and he was later admitted to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital. It must be noted that on Wednesday itself, the Delhi High Court had directed the Aam Aadmi Party and the prison authorities to provide Shahabuddin with proper medical supervision. The court had also stated that the doctor looking after Covid-19 patients shall monitor Shahabuddin's health and treatment. He was admitted to the ICU of the hospital only three days ago.
Life mostly spent around prison and courts
The 53-year-old gangster turned politician had been serving a life sentence in a 2004 double murder case. A court in Bihar had convicted him to 10 years of imprisonment for arms act violation, against which Shahabuddin had filed an appeal in the Supreme Court. His senior lawyer submitted before the Apex Court that his client had already been in jail for the last 14 years. He was among the most notorious and infamous inmates of Tihar jail along with Chhota Rajan, who had also tested positive for Covid. He had been shifted to Delhi's Tihar jail in February 2018 on a Supreme Court order.
Regrets, charges and crimes galore
The four time RJD MP was accused in 40 cases. The actual number of his crimes is said to be much higher than the official figures that reached the authorities. The political watchdogs and reports from Siwan (a constituency he won four times) suggest that he was infamous and dreaded in equal measures, thereby attracting nick names like 'Sultan of Siwan,' 'Terror of Siwan' or 'Saheb' for himself.
He received bail in a majority of cases filed against him. In 2016, he came out of Bhagalpur jail after 11 years of jail term in a double murder case of two young sons of a local businessman. It was the brutal manner in which the murder was committed that shocked everyone. The brothers were drenched in acid before being killed on Shahabuddin's orders.
However, soon after that, the Supreme Court in 2016 canceled the bail and directed the Bihar government to immediately take him into custody, citing societal interest and his criminal antecedents. While turning himself in, Shahabuddin had told reporters, "My supporters will give a befitting reply to Nitish Kumar in the next elections."
His wife Hina Sahab was in the fray on RJD ticket in the Lok Sabha 2019 elections. She lost to Kavita Singh of JD (U). Shahabuddin has left behind a legacy of regret, felony and injustice. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and one son.
