Shahabuddin convicted in kidnapping case, acquitted in two

PATNA: Rashtriya Janata Dal Member of Parliament Mohammad Shahabuddin was on Saturday convicted by a special court in Bihar for the 1999 abduction of Chote Lal, a trader and Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist activist in Siwan district.

Justice Gyaneshwar Srivastava of the special court in Siwan jail convicted Shahabuddin on the basis of circumstantial evidence against him, the public prosecutor told DNA.

Chote Lal was abducted in 1999 and since then his whereabouts are not known. The court will pronounce the quantum of sentence against him on Tuesday. The offence is punishable with imprisonment for life or rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years and a fine.

Srivastava pronounced Shahabuddin guilty under Section 364 (abducting in order to murder) of Indian Penal Code in the case. The prosecution, however, could not establish that the abducted man was murdered as his body was never recovered.

This is the second time Shahabuddin has been convicted in a criminal case by the special court. In March, he was convicted of attacking the CPI-ML office in Siwan town on September 19, 1998. Shahabuddin and his armed supporters were said to have bombed the premises, damaged furniture and assaulted office secretary Keshav Baitha.

A Lok Sabha member from Siwan since 1996, he is involved in nearly 40 criminal cases including murder, abduction and possession of illegal arms. Currently lodged in Siwan jail, he was arrested in New Delhi more than a year ago over the seizure of arms from his ancestral house in Siwan.