Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Mohammad Shahabuddin became the centre of a new controversy after a selfie of his, allegedly from inside Siwan prison, went viral on social media. In the picture, Shahabuddin is seen wearing an overcoat and a necktie. The Siwan district administration conducted raids on Saturday inside the jail after the post went viral, and found four SIM cards and two mobile batteries, reported PTI.

However, authorities have claimed that the picture was shot when he was outside the prison. None of the cell phones or SIM cards found in the jail premises belonged to Shahabuddin, ANI reported prison authorities as saying. A case has been registered against four people after the phones were confiscated.

Shahabuddin is accused in 45 cases, including that of the murder of journalist Rajdev Ranjan. The former MP from Siwan was released on bail from jail on September 10, after nearly 11 years. He had been in prison since November 2005 in connection with the murder of two brothers from his village. Shahabuddin was also an accused in the murder case of Rajiv Roshan, a prime eyewitness in the killing of the two brothers.

Patna High Court granted Shahbuddin bail in Roshan’s murder case saying the trial could not begin as the accused was in jail. However, on September 30, the Supreme Court court cancelled his bail and directed Shahabuddin to surrender.