Siwan police have approached cyber experts from Patna to ascertain the cellphone from which a video of Siwan don-turned-politician Mohammad Shahabuddin was filmed and the WhatsApp profile that was used to make it viral on social media.
The move comes amid speculation that Shahabuddin would be shifted to Tihar Jail in Delhi.
Siwan superintendent of police (SP) Saurabh Kumar Sah said on Tuesday that the district police have sought the assistance of the state cyber crime cell to know whether the video was filmed inside jail by Shahabuddin’s aides and released or was the handiwork of some elements to land him in a fresh controversy.
“We have sent a proposal to the state police headquarters, seeking cyber experts’ opinion on the technical aspect,” Sah told The Telegraph over phone on Tuesday. “The experts’ opinion would help the investigating officer zero in on the real culprit.”
Later in the day, Sushil Kumar, an additional SP heading the state cyber cell, confirmed receipt of the Siwan district police’s letter seeking their assistance.
Shahabuddin’s video had gone viral earlier on WhatsApp earlier this month. Later, grabs of the video too went viral.
The photgraphs or videos showed him sporting a different look (head tonsured) and get-up (he seemed to be sporting jeans and a jacket).
“This is the first time that such a photograph of Shahabuddin has emerged from jail where he is serving a sentence in a kidnapping-cum-murder case,” the investigating official said.
Jail administration sources said Shahabuddin’s video was released from Siwan jail after his surrender in a local court on the directive of the Supreme Court, which had earlier cancelled his bail.
Later, a joint team of the district administration and the police searched his ward. A close aide of Shahabuddin is suspected to be instrumental in making the picture go viral.
Siwan district jail superintendent Vidhu Bhardwaj said an FIR was lodged against Shahabuddin and an unknown person after the don’s ward was searched on January 14. “We will cooperate with the investigating team,” the superintendent said.
Siwan district magistrate (DM) Mahendra Kumar constituted a team comprising sub-divisional officer Bhupendra Yadav and sub-divisional police officer Krishna Murari Prasad to inquire into the video leak.
The team was set up on the directive of inspector-general (prisons) Anand Kishor, who took strong exception to the incident. The inquiry team submitted its report to the DM, who, in turn, sent it to the prison directorate.
Earlier last year, a picture showing Shahabuddin with Bihar minority welfare minister Abdul Gafoor had gone viral. The CBI has sought a report from the state government the meeting. The CBI, which is probing Siwan journalist Rajdev Ranjan’s murder case, wrote to the state government in this regard last week.
