Mohammad Shahabuddin (53), former Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP, who was serving a life sentence in a murder case at Tihar prison, died of Covid-19 at the Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Hospital in Delhi on Saturday.
According to Sandeep Goel, the DG of Prison, Delhi, an information was received from DDU Hospital about the death of Mohammad Shahabuddin.
“He was suffering from Covid-19. Shahabuddin was admitted to the ICU two-three days ago,” the DG said. “The former Siwan MP was lodged in high-security jail number 2 at Tihar,” said prison official.
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 RJD leader was shifted to Tihar from Siwan jail following a Supreme Court order on February 15, 2018.