In a setback to Rashtriya Janata Dal's Member of Parliament from Siwan Mohammad Shahabuddin, a local court has sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment for possession of illegal firearms and ammunition, but acquitted him in a case of criminal assault on a police officer to free a murder accused.
Additional District and Sessions Judge GP Srivastava pronounced him guilty of possessing an unlicensed foreign-made pistol and 200 bullets of AK-47 and 56 rifles of Pakistani make, but absolved him of the charges of sedition. The weapons and ammunition were recovered from Shahabuddin's Pratappur home during a raid on April 24, 2005.
The MP, however, got a minor reprieve as he and two others were acquitted of charges of assaulting officer in charge of Andar police station Sandesh Baitha on June 21, 1996.