Shahabuddin

Patna, Sept. 26: RJD Lok Sabha member Mohammad Shahabuddin was sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment in connection with seizure of firearms from his ancestral home in Siwan district’s Pratappur village in 2005.

The additional district and sessions judge, Gyaneshwar Prasad Shrivastava, awarded the sentence on the Siwan MP in the court set up especially to try the parliamentarian on the premises of the Siwan jail, 150km from here. Known by the sobriquet of “trigger-happy don”, Shahabuddin is lodged in Siwan jail.

With today’s conviction, the four-time Lok Sabha member stands convicted in seven cases till date. Shrivastava’s court, however, acquitted the MP in another criminal case for lack of evidence.

The police lodged the case under the Arms Act against Shahabuddin after recovery of firearms from his house. The police had recovered the arms following a nine-hour gunbattle with him and his armed supporters.

Shahabuddin also faces a case of sedition for allegedly possessing firearms and foreign-made cartridges, foreign currencies and wireless sets. He faces charges in about 30 criminal cases, including those relating to murder, abduction and possession of illegal weapons and stolen vehicles.

Shahabuddin was convicted for the first time in March 2007 for his role in an attack on the CPI-ML office in Siwan in 1998. In May 2007,a special court sentenced him to life imprisonment for the 1999 kidnapping and killing of Chhote Lal Gupta, a CPI-ML worker.