CBI chargesheet names Shahabuddin in scribe's murder

Patna/New Delhi: The CBI on Tuesday filed supplementary chargesheet against former Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Mohammed Shahabuddin in connection with the murder of Bihar-based journalist Rajdeo Ranjan, an official said.

Shahabuddin, who was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in May-end, is now lodged in Tihar Jail in Delhi.

The probe agency filed the chargesheet in a special CBI court in Bihar's Muzaffarpur under charges of criminal conspiracy, murder and arms act.

The former MP was on May 26 named by the CBI as one of the 10 accused in the murder of Ranjan, who hailed from Bihar's Siwan district.

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

The suspicion over Shahbuddin's involvement deepened after names of two of his henchmen, Mohammad Kaif and Mohammad Javed, surfaced during investigation.

A chargesheet has been filed against six of the accused. Javed and Kaif are on bail and Shahabuddin has been made the 10th accused.

Police in Bihar had earlier claimed that the murder was the result of "premediated conspiracy".

Informed sources claimed that Rajdeo Ranjan had become a "threat" for criminals because of his news reports against the deteriorating law and order condition in Siwan.

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

Shahabuddin, facing 39 criminal cases including those of kidnapping and murder, was shifted to Tihar Jail on February 18.