Acting swiftly to control the damage, the Bihar government filed a plea in the top court after Siwan’s Chanda Babu filed a similar appeal in the top court.
According to sources, the decision, which has been taken to resurrect the image of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as a ‘tough’ administrator in matters of law & order, has the concurrence of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad too. “It’s the responsibility of the Grand Alliance government to protect the interests of people. The government’s only motive is to provide secure environment to residents, rather than ‘protecting’ offenders,” a source said.
Briefing on the plea, the source said, “We have presented facts about the criminal records of Shahabuddin before the top court and urged for cancellation of bail granted to the former parliamentarian by Patna High Court. The government has also raised some questions pertaining to facts being by used by judges in granting bail to Shahabuddin.”
Meanwhile, Chanda Babu, in his petition, has alleged that three of his sons were murdered by the criminal convict. His lawyer Prashant Bhushan told the Supreme Court that the Patna High Court made a mistake by releasing Shahabuddin from jail. Bhushan said that a free and fair trial wouldn’t be possible with the history-sheeter, that is, Shahabuddin, out on bail.
“Witnesses won’t depose against Shahabuddin out of fear,” Bhushan told the apex court. Following the Siwan court order, local administration has attached the properties of shooter Mohammad Kaif, a suspect in the killing of journalist Rajdeo Ranjan. Kaif made headlines for his appearance with Shahabuddin during the latter’s release rally on September 10.