Mohammad Shahabuddin out of jail after 11 years, takes a dig at Nitish Kumar, says 'Lalu Prasad is my leader'

Patna: Former Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Mohammad Shahabuddin on Saturday walked out of jail after 11 years.

The criminal-turned-politician walked out of Bhagalpur Central Jail after Patna High Court granted him bail in the much-publicised Rajiv Raushan murder case.

Speaking to mediapersons, Shahabuddin reiterated that it the case was a conspiracy against him and framed.

“We all know I was framed. But it was Court who jailed me, court has released me,” the ex-RJD MP said.

Shahabuddin said for him Lalu Prasad is the leader and "We all are standing solidly behind him."

The RJD strongman mocked at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar saying, he is a CM as a result of circumstances.

To a question on senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi's allegation that the Grand Secular Alliance government had paved way for his release as RJD is the major partner in it, Shahabuddin said, "There is no need to take Sushil Modi seriously."

"During his early days in Bihar Assembly in the 1990s I remember he used to speak very incoherently leaving deskmen in trouble as to what actually he said. Now he speaks properly and is good in giving news to mediaperson by telling unsubstantiated facts," he said.

The controversial RJD leader was granted bail in a case of murder of a witness in the killing of two brothers in Siwan by bathing them in acid.

The petitioner's counsel YV Giri told the court that the allegation against the RJD strongman and four-term former MP from Siwan in the killing of witness Rajiv Roshan was baseless as he was lodged in Bhagalpur jail since 2014 while the incident took place in Siwan the next year.

In a chilling incident, two brothers were killed in Siwan in 2004 by bathing them in acid. Their elder brother Rajiv Roshan who was an eyewitness in the case was shot dead in 2015.

In May, Shahabuddin was shifted from Siwan district jail to Bhagalpur Central Jail after the murder of Hindustan newspaper`s journalist Rajdeo Ranjan.

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders alleged that Shahabuddin had been pulling the strings from the jail in Siwan and had played a role in the killing of Ranjan.

Ranjan, the Siwan bureau chief of Hindustan, was shot dead in May in a busy market near the Station Road in the district.

Shahabuddin was lodged in Siwan jail for over a decade. He has twice been shifted to the Bhagalpur and Gaya jails for brief periods only.