CBI readies chargesheet against Md Shahabuddin

New Delhi: After collecting sufficient evidence against RJD leader Mohammad Shahabuddin, The CBI is now preparing to file a chargesheet against him in the murder case of Siwan-based journalist Rajdeo Ranjan. 

The agency, sources said, is expected to file a chargesheet against him by the end of this month.

“The agency has collected sufficient evidence against Shahabuddin in the case. There are several scientific evidence, which the agency sleuths collected during the course of the investigation. Investigation by the agency has revealed that Shahabuddin played an active role in hatching a conspiracy to eliminate the Siwan-based journalist,” sources said. 

After he refused to undergo a “lie-detection” test, it became quite evident that he was hiding back facts related to the case, sources said. He gave conflicting versions during custodial interrogation and the agency informed the special CBI court in Muzzafarpur about the development, sources said.

Shahabuddin was in jail when the journalist was gunned down in Siwan while he was returning from office on May 13, 2016. 

Facing more than 39 criminal cases including those of kidnapping and murder, Shahabuddin was transferred to Tihar jail on February 18. A special court in Muzaffarpur recently named Shahabuddin the tenth accused in the case. CBI is also probing the role of jail officials who allegedly allowed the jailed RJD leader to remain in touch with the prime accused in the case, they added.

The case was handed over to the CBI in September last year after the slain journalist’s widow Asha Ranjan and  father Radhe Krishna Chaudhary alleged that Shahabuddin was behind the murder. 

The suspicion over Shahbuddin’s involvement had deepened after names of two of his henchmen Mohammad Kaif and Mohammad Javed surfaced.