Shahabuddin’s terror was such, that no lawyer stayed on our case for long, says father of Rajiv Roshan

With former RJD parlimentarian Mohammed Shahabuddin out on release, Chandrakeshwar Prasad, father of Rajiv Roshan says that he has lost not just three out of his four sons, but his fear as well. No good lawyer has stayed on his case for long because of the fear of Shahabuddin and now the fear is even more as he is out of jail.

In 2014, Shahabuddin was found guilty for kidnapping brothers- Girish Raj and Satish Raj, giving them “an acid bath” and then murdering them. The chief witness in the case, Rajiv Roshan, also the elder borther of Girish and Satish was murdered by Shahabuddin’s son Osama three days before he was to record his statement.

“I am a helpless father who is still breathing despite losing three sons. I have only my fourth son, who has a physical disability. For a man three of whose sons have been murdered, what is there to fear?” said Chanda Babu, 70, in a conversation with The Indian Express.

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He added that the right place for Shahabuddin was behind the bars and not outside it. Chanda Babu had to shut his provisions shop an year ago because of his deteriorating health. The family now depends on Rs 10,000 that they obtain as rent in the building they reside.

“In the last two years, no good lawyer stayed with us for long. They opted out midway out of fear of Shahabuddin,” said Chanda Babu, who has now approached Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan to challenge Shahabuddin’s bail.

Chanda Babu’s son Nitish Raj, disabled in the legs, cooks for and takes care of his parents. Chanda Babu and his wife Kalawati never let Nitish come before the camera or talk to journalists. Chanda Babu said there was no question of leaving Siwan as he has nothing to lose now. “I have stayed here for my rights. My sons and I protested against someone taking away my property. We paid a heavy price for it,” said Chanda Babu, who fears Siwan will change for the worse.

The grieving father added that he is hurt not only by the release of Shahabuddin but also by his statement that “there are 22 lakh people in Siwan and if one or two people are unhappy, I cannot do anything about it”.