RJD demand probe of sedition charge against Shahabuddin by a SC judge

Irked by sedition charges against Rashtriya Janata Dal member of Parliament Mohammed Shahabuddin, the RJD has demanded a probe into the charges by a Supreme Court sitting judge.

The RJD openly  backed Shahabuddin and maintained that the sedition charge against him was made to defame him as well as the party.

"Let a Supreme Court sitting judge probe the charge. If Shahabuddin is found guilty, let him be punished. If he's found innocent, let the police officers responsible for the charge be punished," RJD senior leader Bhola Prasad Singh told rediff.com.

Meanwhile, Shahabuddin dubbed Siwan District Superintendent of Police Ratn Sanjay as an agent of the Bharatiya Janata Party and said Sanjay was acting on its directives to defame him.

A day after Siwan District Court issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against him in connection with five of the seven cases filed against him in the discovery of firearms, animal skin and foreign currency during raids on his house in Pratappur village on April 24, Shahabuddin said on Sunday that Sanjay is a communal police officer, who is a kathputli (puppet) in the hands of the BJP.

"Sanjay has been making cases against me on the directives of the BJP," he said.

Shahabuddin said the sedition charge against him is part of a larger conspiracy against him, but he would fight back. "I was targeted by the BJP because I enjoy popular support across caste and religion in the state," he said.

The police also sought the court's approval for prosecuting Shahabuddin on charges of sedition in connection with the recovery of Pakistani cartridges, a bulletproof jacket, telescopic rifles and foreign currency during the raids.