Shahabuddin named accused in Bihar journalist murder

Patna: A Special Court here on Friday named former RJD MP Mohammad Shahabuddin -- currently lodged in Delhi's Tihar Central Jail -- the 10th accused in the murder of Bihar journalist Rajdeo Ranjan last year. CBI lawyer Sharad Sinha told the media here that the agency, which probed the case, will file a charge sheet against the jailed politician in the case. He said Shahabuddin was linked to the special CBI court in Muzaffarpur district through video conferencing. The court has fixed June 9 for the next hearing. After an uproar at the national level, the Grand Alliance government led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar handed over the investigation to the CBI in September 2016. On the basis of preliminary investigations, local police had said that Ranjan's killing was a result of a "premeditated conspiracy". Ranjan was shot dead on May 13, 2016, in a busy market area near Station Road in Siwan district of Bihar. He was the Siwan Bureau Chief of a Hindi daily. His widow Asha Ranjan has repeatedly alleged that Shahabuddin was behind the murder as the latter's close associate Laddan Miya is the prime accused in the case. Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders in Bihar had also blamed Shahabuddin for the journalist's killing. Shahabuddin has represented Siwan four times in the Lok Sabha from 1996 to 2009 as a member of Parliament of the Rashtriya Janata Dal led by former Chief Minister Lalu Prasad.