Gangster turned politician Mohammad Shahabuddin dies of COVID-19 in Delhi

Former RJD MP Mohammad Shahabuddin, 53, died of COVID-19 at the Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Hospital in Delhi on Saturday. Shahabuddin, who was serving a life sentence in a murder case, was admitted to the hospital on April 20. Director General (Prisons) Sandeep Goel said, "Information has been received from DDU Hospital about the death of Mohd Shahabuddin, an inmate of Delhi Prisons. He was suffering from COVID-19."Prison officials said Shahabuddin was admitted to the ICU two-three days ago. On April 28, Shahabuddin’s lawyers, senior advocates Salman Khurshid and Randhir Kumar had argued his writ petition before Justice Pratibha M Singh in the Delhi High Court, asking that directions to protect his life, monitor his health, and allow a mobile phone be issued so that he may be in contact with his family members. 

The lawyers told the court that Shahabuddin was lodged with the fellow inmate despite the latter testing positive for Covid in early April. The former Siwan MP was lodged in high-security jail number 2 at Tihar, they said. Earlier this week, the Delhi High Court had directed the AAP government and prison authorities to ensure proper medical supervision and care of Shahabuddin. On December 9, 2015, a special judge in Bihar''s Siwan convicted Shahabuddin and his associates in a 2004 double murder case and sentenced them to life imprisonment. Two brothers, Satish and Girish Roshan, were murdered in August 2004 in Siwan for allegedly refusing to pay extortion money. A third brother, Rajiv Roshan, who was an eyewitness to the crime committed by Shahabuddin''s men, was shot dead on June 6, 2014 when he was on his way to a trial court to depose against the strongman. The conviction and sentencing of Shahabuddin and three others were eventually upheld by the Patna High Court and the Supreme Court. The former Rashtriya Janata Dal leader was shifted to Tihar from Siwan jail following a Supreme Court order on February 15, 2018.