J Dey killing: Chhota Rajan, 8 others get life imprisonment

Mumbai, May 2

Nearly seven years after senior journalist J Dey was shot dead here, a special court on Wednesday awarded life imprisonment to all the nine convicted, including gangster Chhota Rajan.

MCOCA court judge Sameer Adkar, however, acquitted former journalist Jigna Vora, who was charged with instigating Rajan to carry out the killing in 2011.

The judge also acquitted Paulson Joseph, who was accused of handling the financial operations concerned with the conspiracy.

The court imposed a fine of Rs 26 lakh on each of the convicts.

This is the first major conviction for Rajan since he was deported to India following his arrest at Bali airport in Indonesia in 2015.

Earlier last year, Rajan was convicted by a court in Delhi and sentenced to seven years imprisonment in a case of fake passports.

Dey, 56, was shot by two motorcycle-borne men on June 11, 2011, in suburban Powai when he was on his way to his residence.

At that time, he worked as a senior editor for the tabloid, Mid Day.

According to the prosecution, the killing was carried out at the behest of Rajan, who was purportedly 'unhappy' with the negative reports that Dey had been writing on his health and his diminishing clout in the underworld.

Twelve people were arrested in the case, including Rajan, Satish Joseph alias Satish Kaliya, the shooter, and Vora.

One of the accused, Vinod Asrani, died after prolonged illness in 2015, pending trial.

Vora broke down in the court soon after her acquittal.

Rajan, who was witnessing proceedings from New Delhi's Tihar jail via video conferencing, said "theek hai" (alright), when the judge read out the sentence and asked the gangster if he wanted to say anything.

The prosecution earlier demanded the maximum punishment for the convicts, saying that J Dey was a journalist, who represented the fourth pillar of democracy. 

Chronology of events in Dey murder case

Following is the chronology of events in the J Dey case in which a Mumbai court on Wednesday convicted gangster Chhota Rajan and acquitted former journalist Jigna Vora and another accused.

June 11, 2011: Journalist Jyotirmoy Dey (56) shot dead near Hiranandani Gardens in suburban Powai. A case of murder filed at the Powai police station and the probe transferred to the Crime Branch.

June 27, 2011: Mumbai Crime Branch arrests seven people, including the shooter, Satish Kaliya, and others Abhijit Shinde, Arun Dake, Sachin Gaikwad, Anil Waghmode, Nilesh Shendge and Mangesh Agawane.

Based on their questioning, the police arrests three more accused - Vinod Asrani, Deepak Sisodia and Paulson Joseph.

July 7, 2011: Provisions of the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) invoked against the accused.

November 25, 2011: Journalist Jigna Vora arrested on charges of instigating gangster Chhota Rajan to plan the killing.

December 3, 2011: The Crime Branch files chargesheet in the case. Two persons - Chhota Rajan and Nayansingh Bisht - shown as wanted accused.

February 21, 2012: A supplementary charge sheet filed against Vora.

July 27, 2012: Vora gets bail.

April 10, 2015: Asrani dies in jail after prolonged illness.

June 8, 2015: The court frames charges against 11 accused under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections of 120(b) (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder) and 34 (common intention), along with relevant provisions of the MCOCA and the Arms Act.

October 25, 2015: Rajan arrested at Bali in Indonesia and deported to India. Later, lodged at Tihar Jail in Delhi.

January 5, 2016: The case transferred to the CBI.

November 7, 2016: Dey’s wife Shubha Sharma deposes before the court, tells he was tensed since a week before the killing.

August 31, 2017: The special MCOCA court frames charges against Rajan.

February 22, 2018: The prosecution completes its final arguments.

April 2, 2018: The court records Rajan’s final statement under section 313 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). Rajan produced before the court from Tihar jail via video conference link.

April 3, 2018: The defence completes its arguments. The special MCOCA court reserves its judgement in case till May 2. IANS/PTI