Former Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Mohammad Shahabuddin passed away on Saturday at a hospital in Delhi after he was tested positive for COVID-19.
Shahabuddin, who was serving a life sentence for murder at the Tihar Jail, was diagnosed with COVID-19 on April 20, after which he was admitted to the Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Hospital in New Delhi.
Data provided by Tihar Jail authorities till April 23 revealed that the prison has 227 active cases among jail inmates and 60 among jail staff, including a jail superintendent and two prison doctors. Former JNU student Umar Khalid who is lodged in Tihar was also tested positive for COVID recently.
The 53-year-old politician’s political career began as an independent legislator in 1990. He then contested on the ruling RJD ticket in the 1995 Assembly polls, after coming into the eyes of the then Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. From 1996 to 2004, he won four parliamentary elections from the Siwan constituency.
His wife Heena Shahab has since run unsuccessfully for his former seat in parliament as a member of the RJD party.