CBI takes custody of ex-RJD MP Shahabuddin

New Delhi, May 29: The CBI was today detained by former RJD MP Mohammad Shahabuddin in the murder of journalist Rajeev Ranjan in Bihar. Shahabuddin is now lodged in the Tihar Jail here. The Central Bureau of Investigation has a former MP on May 26, one of the 10 accused in the murder of Rana from Bihar Siwan district. The chargesheet is filed on the basis of the evidence submitted by the CBI.
The case was handed over to the CBI in September last year after the slain journalist's widow Asha Ranjan and his father Radhe Krishna Chaudhary repeatedly alleged that Shahabuddin was behind the murder. The suspicion over Shahbuddin's involvement deepened after names of two of his henchmen, Mohammad Kaif and Mohammad Javed, surfaced during investigation. A chargesheet has been filed against six of the accused. Javed and Kaif are on bail and Shahabuddin has been made the 10th accused.
Police in Bihar had earlier claimed that the murder was the result of "premediated conspiracy". The sources claimed that the slain journalist had become a "threat" for criminals because of his news reports against the deteriorating law and order condition in Siwan. Shahabuddin was in jail when the journalist was gunned down in Siwan while returning from office on May 13, 2016. Shahabuddin, Tihar jail on February 18, facing 39 criminal cases, including kidnapping and murder.