For many he is a dreaded crime boss, his hands stained by the blood of the scores who fell allegedly to the bullets of his men.
For the few who knew him closely enough, Mohammad Shahabuddin is more multifaceted - a softspoken seasoned politician when you meet him, a warm host if you visit his house, a political analyst if you engage him in a debate, and a don to fear if you look into his cold eyes.
Out of jail after 11 years, he breaks into a pleasant smile on spotting this correspondent. "Kaise hai? sab acha na ? ( How are things? All fine?)" But that doesn't at any point make me forget in whose presence I am in .
Having covered Bihar politics for more than 18 years, I feel this Saturday - the day he was released on bail in a case of kidnapping to commit murder - was very significant.
A day which will change the course of Bihar politics for sure. Shahabuddin left no one guessing they way he lauded Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad and attacked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar the moment he was out of Bhagalpur jail.
"Nitish Kumar is a leader of circumstances but Lalu Yadav is my leader forever,” he said.
The attack on the CM was for very obvious reasons; it was Nitish Kumar who packed him off to jail when he came to power in 2005. Logically he would have spit more venom, but his political acumen held him back.
Eleven years ago the RJD, which Shahabuddin represented in Parliament four times before being debarred in 2009, was at the opposite end of the political spectrum as Nitish's Janata Dal (United). Today they are in an alliance in Bihar.
It's not that Nitish Kumar has had a change of heart, or isn’t minding this dent to the image of his government. It's political compulsion which is forcing him to gulp down such insults.
The only person smiling, other than Shahabuddin, is Lalu Prasad who is believed to have managed his release and forced the government to go soft on the legal front. Shahabuddin - who has about 40 cases of murder, kidnapping or extortion registered against him - had been Lalu's trusted lieutenant during the days of the "jungle raj". Now, as Shahabuddin spewed vitriol against Nitish, his political ally Lalu kept a mysterious silence.
Which is a good enough indication that Nitish Kumar will have to tune his ears to more such barbs in the days to come.
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