Tag: Chhota Rajan

  • Maharashtra: Shiv Sena MLA claims he received threat call from Chhota Rajan’s nephew

    By PTI

    NASHIK: A Shiv Sena MLA from Nashik district of Maharashtra has lodged a police complaint alleging that he had received a threat call from a man claiming to be the nephew of Underworld don Chhota Rajan.

    The MLA Suhas Kande, who represents the Nandgaon constituency, received the threat call on Monday evening following which he lodged a complaint with Nashik police commissioner Deepak Pandey on Tuesday, an official said.

    The complaint application mentions that Kande received a call on his mobile phone and the caller who identified himself as Akshay Nikalje, nephew of Chhota Rajan, threatened him to withdraw a writ petition filed by him in the Bombay High Court alleging that the Nashik District Planning Committee did not distribute the funds it received equally.

    The caller told Kande that if the latter fails to withdraw the application, it will not be good for the MLA and his family members, it said.

  • Gangster Chhota Rajan discharged from AIIMS, returns to Tihar jail

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Gangster Chhota Rajan, who was admitted to AIIMS on Tuesday due to stomach ache, was discharged from the hospital and taken back to Tihar jail, officials said on Saturday.

    Rajan, 61, underwent treatment and was discharged from the hospital on Friday evening, they said.

    Director General (Delhi Prisons) Sandeep Goel said Chotta Rajan has been discharged from AIIMS and is now back in jail.

    In April also, Rajan was admitted to the hospital after he had tested positive for COVID-19.

    He was brought back to the jail after his recovery.

    Rajan has been lodged at the high-security prison since his arrest upon his deportation from Bali in Indonesia in 2015.

  • Jailed gangster Chhota Rajan admitted to AIIMS-Delhi with stomachache

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Jailed gangster Chhota Rajan was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here after he complained of a stomachache, officials said Thursday. A senior jail official said, “Rajan was having a stomachache and was admitted to AIIMS Tuesday. He is likely to be discharged today. However, no official communication has been received on his discharge.”

    61-year-old Rajan was admitted at the hospital in on April 24 also after he had tested positive for COVID-19 in Tihar Jail two months earlier. He was brought back to the jail after his recovery. Rajan is lodged at the high-security prison since his arrest upon his deportation from Bali in Indonesia in 2015.

  • CBI opposes Chhota Rajan’s bail plea in Bombay HC, says he has no respect for country’s laws

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The Central Bureau of Investigation opposed Chhota Rajan’s bail plea in the Bombay High Court on Wednesday and said the gangster had no respect for the country’s laws.

    Special Public Prosecutor Pardeep Gharat told a single bench presided over by Justice Anuja Prabhudesai that Rajan had multiple cases pending against him and was convicted and sentenced in a host of other cases.

    Gharat urged the high court not to grant bail to Rajan, saying the gangster was a “Z plus security threat”.

    He said Rajan had fled India and travelled to several other countries on fake names and passports before he was finally arrested and extradited to India in November 2015. Rajan was extradited from Indonesia in 2015 and has been in judicial custody at the Tihar prison in New Delhi since then.

    Gharat was making submissions opposing an interim application filed by Rajan, seeking bail in a case of attempt to murder a hotelier.

    Rajan was sentenced to imprisonment for eight years in the case by a special court in Mumbai in 2019 under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

    However, Rajan’s counsel, senior advocate Sudeep Pasbola, told the HC that there was no credible evidence against the gangster in the case.

    “I (Rajan) have been convicted on the charge of conspiracy only. All the other accused persons in the case, including those who were actual assailants, have been out on bail, so I deserve parity,” Pasbola told the HC.

    “There is no direct evidence against me. Only a hearsay statement by two witnesses, which was not based upon their personal knowledge, was cited as evidence against me. These statements were based on information given by one of their co-accused, who is absconding,” Pasbola said.

    Gharat, however, told the HC that while Rajan was in the CBI’s custody in the case since April 2016, his co-accused, who were granted bail, were in custody since 2009. Besides, Rajan still had 14 to 15 cases pending against him, Gharat said.

    “The present applicant has no respect for the law of India. He absconded to various countries. He was travelling under fake name and fake passport. He was arrested after his real identity was discovered. And then, he was brought to India in 2015,” Gharat said.

    “He (Rajan) has 71 cases against him before the CBI…14-15 (cases) are still pending. He has been convicted and sentenced in 12 cases and awarded life imprisonment in one of these cases,” he said.

    Justice Prabhudesai directed the CBI to submit before the HC a copy of the FIR, the confessional witness statements in the case, and a list of Rajan’s criminal antecedents.

    The HC will continue hearing the plea after two weeks.

    On July 14, Justice Prabhudesai had admitted for hearing a bunch of pleas and interim applications filed by Rajan, seeking bail and challenging convictions in three cases.

    In two of these cases, Rajan, whose real name is Rajendra Nikalje, was convicted for attempt to murder.

    Rajan was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment in the case of attempt to murder hotelier BR Shetty in August 2019.

    He has also challenged a special CBI court’s order sentencing him to two years’ imprisonment in January 2021 in a 2015 extortion case.

    He has also appealed against his conviction and sentence of 10 years, pronounced by a court in March this year, for attempting to kill builder Ajay Gosaliya.

  • Yusuf Lakdawala​ case: Court accepts closure report against Chhota Rajan

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: A special court here on Saturday accepted a closure report filed by the CBI against jailed gangster Chhota Rajan in the case related to a firing on builder and film financier Yusuf Lakdawala in 2001.

    A closure report is filed when an investigating agency believes that it does not have enough evidence to proceed against an accused.

    Special Judge A T Wankhede accepted the report and directed that Rajan be `released’ as per section 169 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (release of accused when evidence is deficient).

    The court also asked Rajan to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000.

    However, the gangster would not walk out of jail as he is facing numerous other cases.

    Special Public Prosecutor Pradeep Gharat said the Central Bureau of Investigation had filed the closure report about three months ago.

    Appearing through video link, 76-year-old Lakdawala told the court that he had no objection if the closure report was accepted, Gharat said.

    Rajan’s lawyer advocate Tushar Khandare said the incident of firing on Lakdawala had taken place in suburban Bandra in 2001.

    Rajan and some others were named in the case for alleged attempt to murder and also under the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA).

    Rajan is lodged in Tihar Jail in Delhi after his deportation from Indonesia in October 2015.

    He is facing around 70 cases, including the 2011 murder of journalist J Dey.

    Lakdawala too is in judicial custody after being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case.

    The ED case is based on a 2019 FIR of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police about alleged cheating and forgery related to a Rs 50 crore-worth land at Khandala in Pune district.

  • Yusuf Lakdawala​ case: Court accepts closure report against Chhota Rajan

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: A special court here on Saturday accepted a closure report filed by the CBI against jailed gangster Chhota Rajan in the case related to a firing on builder and film financier Yusuf Lakdawala in 2001.

    A closure report is filed when an investigating agency believes that it does not have enough evidence to proceed against an accused.

    Special Judge A T Wankhede accepted the report and directed that Rajan be `released’ as per section 169 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (release of accused when evidence is deficient).

    The court also asked Rajan to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000.

    However, the gangster would not walk out of jail as he is facing numerous other cases.

    Special Public Prosecutor Pradeep Gharat said the Central Bureau of Investigation had filed the closure report about three months ago.

    Appearing through video link, 76-year-old Lakdawala told the court that he had no objection if the closure report was accepted, Gharat said.

    Rajan’s lawyer advocate Tushar Khandare said the incident of firing on Lakdawala had taken place in suburban Bandra in 2001.

    Rajan and some others were named in the case for alleged attempt to murder and also under the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA).

    Rajan is lodged in Tihar Jail in Delhi after his deportation from Indonesia in October 2015.

    He is facing around 70 cases, including the 2011 murder of journalist J Dey.

    Lakdawala too is in judicial custody after being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case.

    The ED case is based on a 2019 FIR of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police about alleged cheating and forgery related to a Rs 50 crore-worth land at Khandala in Pune district.

  • Gangster Chhota Rajan returns to Tihar after recovering from COVID-19

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Gangster Chhota Rajan, who was admitted at AIIMS here for treatment after he had tested positive for COVID-19, was taken back to Tihar jail on Tuesday following his recovery from illness, officials said.

    He was found COVID-19 positive in the Tihar Jail on April 22 and was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on April 24.

    According to a senior police officer, Rajan was brought back to Tihar on Tuesday as he had recovered.

    On Friday, the jail administration had dismissed reports claiming that Rajan had died.

    ”News of death of Tihar jail inmate Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje @ Chhota Rajan s/o Sadashiv Nikalje is wrong,” Director General (Prisons) Sandeep Goel had said.

    Rajan, 61, is lodged at the high-security prison since his arrest after deportation from Bali in Indonesia in 2015.

  • News of Chhota Rajan’s death wrong: Tihar Jail on COVID-infected gangster’s health

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Tihar Jail administration on Friday said that the news of gangster Chhota Rajan’s death is “wrong”.

    Rajan was found COVID-19 positive in the Tihar Jail on April 22 and admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on April 24.

    “News of death of Tihar jail inmate Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje @ Chhota Rajan s/o Sadashiv Nikalje is wrong,” Director General (Prisons) Sandeep Goel said.

    Rajan, 61, is lodged at the high security prison since his arrest after deportation from Bali in Indonesia in 2015.

  • Underworld don Chhota Rajan tests COVID-19 positive, admitted to AIIMS

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Underworld don Rajendra Nikalje alias Chhota Rajan has tested positive for COVID-19 and admitted to the New Delhi-based All India Institute of Medical Services (AIIMS), Tihar jail authorities informed a sessions court here on Monday.

    Rajan, 61, is lodged in the high security Tihar prison in New Delhi since his arrest after deportation from Bali, Indonesia, in 2015.

    All the criminal cases pending against him in Mumbai were transferred to the CBI and a special court was constituted to try them.

    On Monday, an assistant jailor of the Tihar jail telephonically informed the sessions court here that they could not produce Rajan via video conference before the judge for hearing in a case as the gangster has tested positive for COVID-19 and admitted to the AIIMS.

    Rajan is facing as many as 70 criminal cases pertaining to extortion and murder in Mumbai.

    In 2018, Rajan was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in the 2011 murder case of journalist Jyotirmoy Dey.

    Last week, the special CBI court in Mumbai acquitted Rajan and his aide in connection with the murder of Hanif Kadawala, an accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts case.

  • Court acquits Chhota Rajan, aide of murdering Mumbai blasts accused Hanif Kadawala

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  A special CBI court on Thursday acquitted underworld don Chhota Rajan and his aide in connection with the murder of Hanif Kadawala, an accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts case.

    Rajan, 62, and his associate Jaggnath Jaiswal, charged with murder and other offences under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was acquitted by special CBI court judge A T Wankhede.

    Kadawala transported weapons to Mumbai on the instructions of Tiger Memon, a key accused in the terror attack, and they were used in the 1993 blasts, which had killed more than 250 people.

    Kadawala was killed on February 7, 2001, in his office here by three men.

    The CBI, which probed the murder case, had alleged that Rajan ordered the killing of Kadawala to gain publicity.

    Prior to this, Rajan had ordered the killing of several other blasts accused, the central agency had said. Rajan and his aide were acquitted by the court for want of evidence, their lawyers said.

    There was no evidence against Rajan. In fact, it is on record that the contract of killing Kadawala was given by the Guru Satam gang and Ravi Pujari gang. 

    “Rajans name was mentioned in this case only to misguide the investigating agency,” Rajans lawyer Tushar Khandare said.

    It was for want of cogent evidence that both the accused were let off by the court, Jaiswal’s lawyer said.