Now, Shahabuddin's son Osama charged with killing witness

Slain BJP leader was to testify in murder case

The Siwan police on Wednesday raided the ancestral house of Mohammad Shahabuddin, the former RJD MP languishing in jail, in search of the incarcerated leader’s son Osama in connection with a murder.

Osama has been charged with killing local BJP leader Rajiv Roshan, who was an eyewitness in a murder case in 2004 in which his father Shahabuddin is an accused. Roshan was the sole witness to the killing of his brothers Girish Raj and Satish Raj on August 16, 2004. 

Both the brothers were abducted, allegedly at the behest of the RJD leader, and drenched in acid before being killed.

The case was under trial and Roshan was supposed to depose before the court. But on Monday evening, unidentified miscreants led by Shahabuddin’s son Osama reportedly surrounded Roshan near DAV roundabout and started indiscriminate firing in the presence of local police. 

Roshan’s father Chadkeshwar Prasad, who was in another vehicle, rushed his profusely bleeding son to the sadar hospital, which, in turn, referred Roshan to the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH). Roshan, however, succumbed to his injuries on the way to Patna. His father has lodged an FIR naming Shahabuddin, his son Osama and others as the prime accused. He has also blamed the cops for not saving the life of his son.

Siwan SP Vivek Kumar said a special team, comprising four inspectors, has been constituted to apprehend Osama and his men. 

The SP has, meanwhile, suspended five policemen, including ASI Balmiki Singh for dereliction of duty.

The police later conducted raids on Shahabuddin’s Pratappur residence as well as his house in Naya Quila area. Predictably, Osama could not be traced. The police suspect that he fled to New Delhi soon after the killing. 

Shahabuddin’s wife Heena Sahab, who contested the recent Lok Sabha election as RJD candidate against BJP’s Om Prakash Yadav, was present at the residence when the police carried out search operations looking for her son. 

“My son (Osama) is on a trip to a hill station for the last one week,” Heena reportedly told the cops. 

Meanwhile, the traders of Siwan observed a day’s bandh to protest against the killing of Roshan.