The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Bihar government to transfer Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Mohammed Shahabuddin to Tihar Jail from a district jail in Siwan within a week.

A bench comprising justices Dipak Misra and Amitava Roy had heard pleas filed by the state government, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and other petitioners have sought transferring Shahabuddin out of Bihar alleging that he could influence trial and intimidate witnesses in the state.

Chandrakeshwar Prasad, whose three sons were allegedly murdered by Shahabuddin, and Asha Ranjan, whose journalist husband Rajdev Ranjan was allegedly murdered by associates of Shahabuddin, had moved the court.