Shahabuddin: ?New? address

Patna, May 7: After an intense debate within the administration, Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Mohammad Shahabuddin, who faces over three dozen criminal cases, was shifted to the Siwan jail from Bhagalpur this evening amid heavy security.

The controversial politician has entered his hometown after more than a year. Shahabuddin was first debarred from entering Siwan in February last year by then district magistrate C.K. Anil, and after that he kept running from police as an arrest warrant was issued against him.

The fugitive MP was arrested in Delhi in November after which he was kept in the Bhagalpur jail for six months.

Shahabuddin was brought to Siwan from Bhagalpur today by road. Witnesses in Siwan said the district administration had made heavy police deployment along the route and a large number of people had turned out to catch a glimpse of Shahabuddin, whose dictates were once law in the region.

?The police had a tough time managing the crowd and even resorted to lathicharge at a few places in the town. The MP was driven straight to the jail,? said a college teacher from Siwan.

The district administration had requested the government to extend Shahabuddin?s stay in Bhagalpur by six more months but at a high-level meeting on Friday night, the authorities decided to shift him to his hometown to ensure speedy trial of the cases he is facing. As there were two views on his shifting, another meeting was held on Saturday night, where the final seal of approval was put on the MP?s transfer.

Home secretary Afzal Amanullah was said to be against Shahabuddin?s shifting but a top official observed that letting him stay in Bhagalpur would have indicated that the government was not competent to deal with any eventualities of ?law and order? in Siwan.

Chief secretary G.S. Kang said the decision to shift Shahabuddin was taken on the expiry of his six-month stay in Bhagalpur and much should not be read into it. A top police official was understood to have remarked at the meeting: ?It is better to tame the so-called lion in his own den.? The BJP had also requested the government not to bring Shahabuddin to Siwan.

Shahabuddin?s earlier tenures at the Siwan jail had been controversial, not only because he enjoyed comforts that were out of the purview of the jail manual but also since he was known to be in constant touch with his associates in the district through alleged easy access to cellular phones inside the prison.