Bihar Don Shahabuddin Back to Jail After SC Cancels His Bail

New Delhi: Bihar’s notorious don-turned politician Mohammed Shahabuddin will now return to jail after his bail was cancelled by Supreme Court on Friday.

Shahabuddin, facing criminal charges in around 50 cases, including the political murders of former JNUSU chairperson Chandrashekhar Prasad and CPI(ML) activist Chhote Lal Gupta, had been lodged in Bhagalpur prison for over a decade until the Patna High Court granted him bail on September 7.

The Supreme Court decision to cancel the bail comes on the petition, among others, of senior advocate Prashant Bhushan who had argued before the apex court that Shahabuddin did not follow any rules and walked out of jail at will. Bhushan sought cancellation Shahabuddin's bail on the ground that if he is released on bail, then the life of the last witness, who is to testify in a case, would be in danger.

Before his arrest in 2005, Shahabuddin was a Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP representing Siwan consecutively for four times from 1996 to 2009. For many, he symbolized the collapse of law and order during the RJD era in Patna, and his release had brought back fears of the state plunging into what Oppsition called ‘Jungle Raj’.

Immediately upon his release, Shahabuddin had sparked a political row when he said not the Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar – who had sent him to jail in 2005 – but RJD leader Laloo was his leader.

In an interview to CNN-News18, he had blamed the Nitish government for his troubles. Flatly denying charges against him, he said, "I am a victim of the government system. I am not a don."

“May be he (Nitish) is the CM of Bihar but my leader will always be Lalu Prasad Yadav. Nitish ji became Bihar's CM because of the political situation. It is only because of circumstances/situation he is now the state chief minister," Shahabuddin had told CNN-News18.

Shahabuddin was released on bail from Bhagalpur jail on September 10 and was spotted with a dreaded sharp shooter who is wanted for the murder of journalist Rajdeo Ranjan. In the photo, shooter named Mohammad Kaif alias Bunty is shown accompanying Shahabuddin during his journey from Bhagalpur to Siwan after his release from the jail.