Author: PTI
Publication: Mumbai Mirror
Date: July 29, 2006
Introduction: Shahabuddin's aide and a lawyer
threatens judge with murder if he doesn't rescue the jailed RJD MP who faces
some 40 cases
Patna: More trouble may be in store for jailed
RJD MP from Siwan Mohammed Shahabuddin after a lawyer close to him allegedly
threatened a judge with dire consequences if he did not deliver judgements
in his favour.
Mahtab Alam, a lawyer from Aurangabad in Bihar,
allegedly threatened to eliminate V B Gupta, a judicial magistrate in whose
court some cases against the controversial MP are being heard, if he did not
deliver judgements in Shahabuddin's favour, a source in the Bihar police headquarters
said on Friday.
The source said Alam called up Gupta requesting
him to 'rescue' Shahabuddin, who is facing over three dozen criminal cases,
and offered 'allurements' to the judge.
When Gupta refused to oblige, Alam apparently
threatened to get him killed.
"There were both allurements and threats,"
the source said adding the judge then informed his superior, additional district
and sessions judge Gyaneshwar Prasad Srivastava of the incident.
The two told Siwan Superintendent of Police
Sunil Kumar about the call and sought additional security for the judge, which
was granted, the source said.
Gupta has so far not registered any FIR in
connection with the threat, the source said adding that the judge had also
informed the Patna High Court of the incident through Advocate General P K
Sahi.
The two judges - Gupta and Srivastava - had
been appointed by the Patna High Court to head two special courts inside Siwan
jail for speedy trial of the cases against Shahabuddin.
Some time ago, Shahabuddin had got into a
scuffle with the Siwan deputy superintendent of police when the Lok Sabha
member apparently tried to put pressure on members of a medical board to recommend
shifting him to a hospital outside Bihar for specialised treatment.
