Osama Shahab is reserved, soft-spoken, and sometimes, even laid-back. The RJD candidate from Raghunathpur in Siwan spoke a rare few words during a campaign rally upon Tejashwi Yadav's insistence. Otherwise, it is the incumbent MLA Hari Shankar Yadav who does the most talking for the 31-year-old. Because in Siwan, it is not Osama's overseas education nor youth that takes centre stage. It is the fact that he is the son of late 'Saheb's' that makes him stand apart. Osama is the son of the late Mohammad Shahabuddin — a two-time MLA And four-time MP from the district. The infamous 'bahubali' was a saviour — a Robin Hood torn from the pages of legend for some; to others, a tyrant who ruled in terror for decades. Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi's association with Shahabuddin is inseparable, with their time in power getting the unwanted 'Jungle Raj' branding.
बेलागंज की जनता का जोश और समर्थन देखकर यकीन है कि हम एक बार फिर इस क्षेत्र में विकास और परिवर्तन का नया अध्याय लिखेंगे। आपका प्यार और विश्वास मेरी ताकत है, और हम सब मिलकर चुनाव को एक नई दिशा देंगे।
— Osama Shahab (@OsamaShahabRJD) November 9, 2024
डॉ. विश्वनाथ भाई के लिए आपका समर्थन और साथ इस बदलाव की शुरुआत है। @yadavtejashwi pic.twitter.com/uaPQctVAx0
This is the first Assembly election in Bihar following Shahabuddin's passing. He died a convict, sentenced in a double murder case, amongst others, while being hospitalised in the National Capital due to Covid-19-related complications.
RJD made earnest attempts to distance itself from the complicated "career" of Shahabuddin but has been forced to take his son under its wings. Reports from Bihar claimed that this was a mutual arrangement that works well for both sides. Osama's mother Hena Shahab contested the Lok Sabha election as an Independent after RJD distanced itself from the family of Lalu's trusted strongman. She could not win — just as she had failed to do earlier when she contested as the official RJD candidate. However, Hena polled 2,93,651 votes to finish second yet again behind JD(U) (which got 3,86,508 votes), while the RJD candidate was pushed third with under 2.00,000 votes. The moral of the story — together, both sides stood a realistic winning chance. And old hatchets were buried for good.
The fielding of Shahabuddin’s son is being highlighted as RJD's attempt to take Siwan back to the days of ‘Jungle Raj’, claims NDA. His election affidavit later showed that he has been charged with multiple criminal cases, including attempted murder, but there have been no convictions yet. Tejashwi's camp is highlighting Osama's academic credentials and quiet behaviour to counter it. A law graduate, Shahab went to London to finish his studies. Not many are aware that his father, often referred to as a dreaded criminal, had a PhD degree in political science.
The reign of 'Saheb': A ‘Jungle Raj’ chapter like no other
Born in Pratappur village in Siwan, Shahabuddin was a youth wing leader of the Janata Dal during Lalu Prasad Yadav's rise. With the Yadav-Muslim matrix forming the foundation for Lalu's political prosperity, it was only a matter of time before Shahabuddin conquered greater heights. The first case was registered against him at the age of 19. Over time, the Hussainganj police declared him an 'A'-category criminal. That did not stop him from entering the Vidhan Sabha four years later in 1990 and being re-elected in 1995. A year later, Lalu fielded him in the Lok Sabha from Siwan, which sealed his hold over the district for decades to come.
"Regarded as the most prominent criminal-politician to have appeared on the national scene since the 1990s, few could compare to his levels of notoriety and terror. He won the [Lok Sabha] elections comfortably. However, it was marred by heavy pre- and post-poll violence. Shahabuddin's men killed a BJP leader after the polls, including five people on the day of polling. They were not even deterred from making an attempt on the life of the SP of Siwan, from which he managed to escape," writes Mrityunjay Sharma in his famous book 'Broken Promises: Caste, Crime and Politics in Bihar.'
An attack on the police superintendent was a little too much even for the Chief Minister to turn a blind eye to, and Shahabuddin eventually surrendered. Minister Awadh Bihari Choudhary's convoy accompanied him to the Court, making a statement that Lalu was not abandoning his trusted soldier. The minister's car was later used to take the man with 24 criminal cases pending against him to the jail!
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Shahabuddin's notoriety skyrocketed following the birth of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). CPI(ML) Liberation, a modern Mahagathbandhan ally, often paid the price for his misadventures. The communist party that put down arms to become mainstream was gradually spreading its roots across Siwan, and the bahubali responded by attacking their cadre and party offices. Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union president Chandra Shekhar Prasad, a Siwan native, was among the victims of Shahabuddin's hatred for CPI(ML) Liberation. The AISA leader, often referred to as Chandu, was gunned down alongside two others on 31 March 1997 in broad daylight during campaigning. The well-educated AISA leader was starting to breathe fresh air into Siwan's barren political landscape when he was killed for the crime of challenging 'Saheb's' monopoly. Chandu's mother was offered a compensation of one lakh rupees by the then Prime Minister, I.K. Gujral, which she refused to accept. "The only compensation for a mother whose adult son has been murdered and who knows the murderer is punishment for her son's killers [...] Let Shahabuddin out of the political fortress and either hang him or let the masses shoot him," she reportedly said.
Shahabuddin was not even charge-sheeted for the murder and resumed running Siwan with an iron fist. In February 1999, CPI(ML) activist Chhote Lal Gupta was reportedly kidnapped and killed on his orders. While the victim's body was never recovered, he was convicted of his abduction in 2007 and handed life imprisonment. This ultimately brought the curtain to his political career, as he would never fight a poll again till his death.
A reign of terror and unimaginable impunity
Shahabuddin in his prime often declared that his word is the law of the land. It was the bahubali who ultimately decided how much money doctors were charging in his strongholds and what movie tickets should cost! "By the year 2000, Shahabuddin had established himself as the undisputed mafia king of Siwan. Local shops would often have a picture of him, mostly to show their allegiance. He was considered a law unto himself and ran a parallel government. He held Khap panchayats to hear people's grievances and redress them. He would adjudicate even on matters as complex as land disputes and marital issues. His judgement would be final and could not be appealed against. He considered himself no less than a court, admitting public interest litigations (PILs)," Mrityunjay Sharma wrote.
In March 2001, he harboured RJD leader Manoj Kumar Pappu, who was wanted by the police. When the cops reached his doorstep, the MP slapped the officer in charge and assaulted his subordinates. Instead of scrambling before Lalu's trusted man, the then SP Bachchu Meena called for reinforcements including units from neighbouring UP and raided Shahabuddin's house. This led to a gunfight in which two policemen and eight gangsters were killed. By the time AK-47s were recovered from his house, Shahabuddin and Pappu were long gone.
The same year, another dreadful crime brought the attention of the nation to Bihar, credit to the MP. The three sons of a businessman named Chanda Babu were kidnapped by Shahabuddin's men over a scuffle. The two elder sons — Girish and Satish — were tied to a tree and doused in acid to death. Shahabuddin reportedly ordered the painful verdict since Girish tried to scare the miscreants by showing the acid bottle when he saw them attacking his brother.
The youngest sibling, Rajeev, lived to tell the horrific tale, and the matter reached Court. In 2015, 21 days after his marriage and a few days before his deposition at the Court, Rajeev was shot dead.
Nine JD(U) workers were killed in Siwan within days of the 2004 Lok Sabha election results coming out, because its candidate Om Prakash Yadav gave RJD a tough fight. The village head where Yadav cast his vote was killed inside a government office to send a message. Yadav's house, too, got riddled by rifle fire in a crude show of brute force that everybody knew was coming. Om Prakash Yadav will later go on to secure repeated wins over Hena Shahab in 2009 and 2014.
Justice comes knocking
Following the fall of Lalu's regime, Shahabuddin's invincibility was shattered. A police raid in 2005 recovered laser-guided guns, night-vision goggles, and other modern weapons that only the Army was supposed to possess in the country from him. Apart from the Chhote Lal Gupta case, he was also sentenced to ten years for the attempted murder of Siwan SP S.K. Singhal in 1996. He was also found guilty of murdering Girish and Satish but passed away aged 53.
It is unfair to link Osama to his father’s problematic history, RJD supporters have claimed while countering the NDA campaign narrative. In his affidavit, Osama has disclosed immovable and movable assets worth over Rs 2.31 crore. His spouse holds immovable and movable assets worth more than Rs 5.70 crore. Osama has always maintained a low profile in Siwan, and it needs to be seen if the Yadav-Muslim poll forging will once again make the hurricane lantern shine bright in Siwan.
