The Bihar government will move the Supreme Court against the bail granted to RJD's Shahabuddin.
The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar will move the Supreme Court against the bail granted to former RJD lawmaker Mohammad Shahabuddin, who was released from jail last weekend, top sources in the ruling Janata Dal United (JD-U) have said.
They said there was no question of "any compromise" in cases against Mr Shahabuddin, a gangster-turned-politician from the party of Lalu Yadav, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's partner in Bihar's ruling coalition. The state government would also ensure there are no lapses as it prepares strong cases against Mr Shahabuddin in cases yet to go to trial, the sources said.
Mr Shahabuddin has more than 40 criminal cases against him, including charges of murder, extortion and kidnapping. He is serving two life sentences in murder cases and was granted bail earlier this month by the Bihar High Court after 11 years in jail.
The opposition BJP has called his release the "return of
jungle raaj to Bihar," and has petitioned the state's governor against it. It has also accused Nitish Kumar, credited with ending Mr Shahabuddin's reign of terror by relentlessly pursuing cases against him for years, of now succumbing to the pressure of coalition politics.
The families of those who were allegedly killed on the orders of Mr Shahbuddin and are fighting cases against him have said they fear for their lives now that he is out of jail.
Mr Shahabuddin attacked Nitish Kumar as he left jail, making it clear that the new equation between his party chief Lalu Yadav and the chief minister, once bitter rivals, will not ameliorate the grudge he bears. Lalu Yadav has made no move to admonish his partyman, who had by his side as he left jail, Mohammad Kaif, an alleged sharpshooter wanted in the murder of a prominent journalist earlier this year.
Mohammad Kaif also travelled in Mr Shahabuddin's 300-car convoy from the Bhagalpur jail to his home in Siwan and the JD(U)'s top leaders have vowed not only to ensure that he is arrested, but also to use his presence next to Mr Shahabuddin as evidence against the latter.
Mohammad Shahabuddin's attack on Mr Kumar - he called him a "circumstantial leader" made chief minister by a coalition agreement - laid bare the displeasure of many in Lalu Yadav's party at being led by Nitish Kumar despite winning more seats in the assembly elections.
Third partner in the coalition, the Congress, has batted for Nitish Kumar telling Lalu Yadav that his party is "free to walk out of the government" if they do not like Nitish Kumar's leadership.