2008 firing at builder: MCOCA court acquits Chhota Rajan

MUMBAI: A special Maharashtra Crime of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court on Friday acquitted underworld don Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje, also known as Chhota Rajan, in connection with a 2008 case of firing at an Andheri-based builder.

Four of Rajan’s purported aides, Kamar Rashid alias Monu alias Munna Abdul Rashid Siddique, 22, Parvez Akhtar Tajmul Hussain Siddique, 34, Anees Anwar Ul Haq Khan, 34, and Asghar Rajabali Khan, 30, arrested in connection with the case, have already faced trial, and in 2010, three of them were sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment while the fourth, Asghar Khan, was acquitted due to lack of evidence.

The FIR in the case was registered based on the builder’s statement, in which Rajan’s aides were named and booked under relevant sections of the Indian Arms Act and the Indian Penal Code, for various charges, including attempt to murder.

During investigation, the Mumbai crime branch found the four arrested accused to be members of an organised crime syndicate led by Chhota Rajan, following which they invoked the provisions of MCOCA in the case.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which had taken up all cases against Chhota Rajan, filed a supplementary chargesheet against the gangster after he was extradited to India in October 2015 from Bali, Indonesia.

Rajan’s counsel argued that he was falsely implicated in the case and claimed that there was no prima-facie evidence to connect him with the alleged crime. He further claimed that the complainant was a police informer and was a close friend of former encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma, who had targeted the gangster a number of times.

Special sessions judge AM Patil, Friday issued the operative part of the order, that acquitted “accused Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje @ Chhota Rajan... of the offences punishable under Sections 307 r/w 120(B), alternatively under section 307 r/w 34 IPC r/w 3, 25, 27 of the Arms Act r/w Sections 3(1)(ii), 3(2), 3(4) of the MCOC Act, 1999.”

The court directed him to execute a personal recognisance (PR) bond of ₹15,000 within six months to ensure his presence before the high court, in case the CBI challenged the order in appeal. Detailed order is yet to be made available.

Rajan will, however, continue to remain incarcerated, as he has been sentenced to life imprisonment in two cases, including the murder of Mumbai journalist Jyotirmoy Dey in 2011. In October this year, the Bombay high court had suspended the life imprisonment sentence awarded for the 2001 murder of hotelier Jaya Shetty and had granted him bail.

Special public prosecutor Pradip Gharat said that out of the 71 cases registered against him, he has been convicted in seven cases and around four cases are still pending. Many of the cases were closed due to lack of evidence, he added.

Rajan was arrested at Bali airport in Indonesia on October 25, 2015, and deported to India. After he was deported, the central government issued a notification in November 2015, transferring all the cases pertaining to him to the CBI.