Friday, July 28 2006 11:36 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Patna: More trouble may be in store for incarcerated RJD heavyweight Mohammed Shahabuddin following a lawyer close to the Lok Sabha member from Siwan allegedly threatening a judge trying some of the cases against him with dire consequences if he did not deliver judgements in his favour.

Mahtab Alam, an Aurabgabad-based lawyer, allegedly threatened V B Gupta, a first class judicial magistrate in whose court some of the cases against the controversial MP is being tried, to get him eliminated if he did not deliver judgements in favour of Shahabuddin, a top source in the Bihar police headquarters said today.

The source said Alam called up Gupta, who was posted in Jehanabad some time ago, and first requested him to rescue Shahabuddin and offered allurements for the favour sought for the MP facing over three dozen criminals cases, including those of murder, attempt to murder, possession of illegal firearms of foreign make, unaccounted foreign currencies etc.

As Gupta refused to oblige, Alam got rough and threatened to get him killed.

There were both allurements and threats, the source said, adding the judge then informed his superior, additionaldistrict and sessions judge Gyaneshwar Prasad Srivastava, who is also holding trial in some other cases against Shahabuddin, about the incident.

"The two then told the Siwan Superintendent of Police Sunil Kumar about the call and sought additional security which was granted," the source said.

The source said that Gupta had also approached the Patna High Court through the Advocate General P K Sahi informing it about the episode.

The two judges were appointed by the Patna High Court to head two special courts inside the Siwan jail for speedy trial of cases against Shahabuddin.

The judge has so far not not registered any FIR in connection with the threat.

Shahabuddin had had a scuffle with Siwan deputy superintendent of police some time ago when the Lok Sabha member tried to put pressure on the members of a medical board, who had gone to the jail for examining him for his spinal problem, to recommend shifting him to a hospital outside Bihar for specialised treatment.