Chhota Rajan deported from Bali, en route to India after 27 years

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government on Thursday decided to transfer all cases registered against gangster Chhota Rajan in the city to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after a high-level meeting was called by chief minister Devendra Fadanvis. The government made an announcement within the hour during which Rajan was brought to the Bali airport from the Indonesian police lockup.  

According to Interpol sources, Rajan’s special flight, which departed from Bali to Delhi, will arrive at Palam airport at about 5.45 am today, 27 years after the gangster had fled the country in the face of numerous cases of murder, extortion and drug smuggling against him. Rajan was arrested in Bali on his arrival from Australia on October 25.

Speaking about the state government’s decision to transfer all the cases against Rajan to the CBI, additional chief secretary (ACS), home, K.P. Bakshi said, “It has been decided after conducting a high-level meeting that we are transferring all cases against Chhota Rajan to the CBI. Officials of the Mumbai police will help the agency with whatever assistance it requires. It is for the CBI to decide if it wants to keep Rajan in Delhi or in Mumbai. We have all possible arrangements ready if the CBI wants Rajan to be kept in Mumbai. The case is being handed over to the CBI because of its expertise in handling trans-national crimes.”

According to officials, the Mumbai police has to maintain law and order in the city — another reason why the government had decided to hand over the case to the government agency, which has expertise in handling such cases. “The Mumbai police had already sent details of the cases against Rajan to the CBI as a part of the dossier so the nodal agency has all the inputs that can help them,” a senior crime branch officer said.

The Mumbai police has nearly 70 cases registered against Rajan, including 20 of murder, four cases under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, one under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and over 20 cases under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.

The Delhi police has six cases registered against Rajan, who was a close aide of fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim at one point but split before the 1993 Mumbai blasts were conspired. In 2000, there was an attempt on Rajan’s life when Dawood’s men tracked him down to a hotel in Bangkok, but he managed a dramatic escape by jumping from the first floor of the hotel. The CBI might first interrogate Rajan about the fake passport, on which he was travelling.

According to a senior officer from the crime branch, the Mumbai police made four teams to list cases where FIRs were registered against Rajan, Within these teams, several public prosecutors and former police officials have been included to prepare the files. The Mumbai police was planning to provide a high level of security to Rajan and RSPF and local arms unit teams were put on hold to be deployed for his security. Now, as the CBI has taken over the cases, chances  are slimmer that Rajan would be in Mumbai anytime soon.

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