The mood was upbeat at the Barharia road residence of Chandrakeshwar Prasad, or Chanda Babu, after the Supreme Court set aside the Patna High Court order granting bail to Siwan don-turned politician Mohammad Shahabuddin on Friday.
" Bhagwan ke ghar der hai, andher nahi (God might delay justice, but won't deny it)," said Chanda Babu - three of whose sons were alegedly killed at Shahabuddin's behest - after the apex court gave its verdict.
He and his wife Kalawati Devi, among others, had filed petitions in the Supreme Court, seeking cancellation of Shahabuddin's bail.
"The Supreme Court has done justice to a family that lost three young members for opposing the reign of terror unleashed by Shahabuddin. I would have been happier had the high court given a similar verdict," said Chanda Babu, in his mid-70s now.
Three armed assailants had gunned down his eldest son Rajiv Roshan near Siwan DAV College on June 17, 2014. Roshan was an eyewitness in the murder of his two brothers - Girish Raj and Satish Raj - allegedly kidnapped and drenched in acid leading to their death in August 2004. Roshan was killed days before he was to depose in a local court in the case regarding his brothers'murder.
"Court ke faisle se dil ko kafi tasalli mili hai (the court order has given us much relief)," said Chanda Babu's ailing wife Kalawati.
She said neither she nor her husband had moved out of their house ever since Shahabuddin had got jail.
Security personnel deployed at their house never allowed them to step out. The couple had literally been confined to their house with their only physically challenged son Nitish.
They demanded that Shahabuddin be hanged. "We hope the Supreme Court will take further action against him, who plotted the murder of several persons, including our three sons," Chanda Babu said.
Only then will people begin trusting the judiciary and come forward to speak against such dons."
As news about cancellation of Shahabuddin's bail spread in the Siwan district headquarters town, Shahabuddin's supporters gathered near JP Chowk and shouted slogans against the state government.
The police intervened and asked them to leave the spot immediately. "We have deployed adequate number of police personnel in town and its suburbs as a precautionary measure. Senior officials are also keeping a close watch," said Siwan superintendent of police (SP) Saurav Kumar Shah.
Around 1.30pm, a team of senior officials, including district magistrate (DM) Mahendra Kumar and SP Saurav Kumar Shah reached Shahabuddin's native village Pratappur to take him into custody after the Supreme Court rejected his bail and ordered his arrest. But Shahabuddin had already left for the Siwan court on a motorbike.
He surrendered in the court of first class judicial magistrate Sandip Kumar Agnihotri, who forwarded him to Siwan district jail. Both the DM and SP were present on the court premises when Shahabuddin was sent to jail.
Outside the court, Shahabuddin told journalists that he had always honoured court orders. "I didn't wait for the copy of the order of the Supreme Court. I reached the court and surrendered within an hour of the order of the court (he surrendered around 2pm)," he said, adding, "I don't care about what people say."
Continuing his attack on chief minister Nitish Kumar, who Shahabuddin had earlier called a "chief minister of circumstances", he said that his supporters would give him (Nitish) a befitting reply in the next election.
Earlier, Shahabuddin's father Sheikh Mohammad Hasibullah said he was taken aback by the sudden development. "I am feeling bad as he stayed with the family for only 20 days and most of the time he was busy meeting his supporters," he said.
