Rajan, 8 aides get life term for Dey murder

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, May 2

The special court set up under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) on Wednesday sentenced gangster Chhota Rajan and eight of his associates to life imprisonment for the 2011 murder of Mumbai crime reporter Jyotirmoy Dey.

Judge Sameer Adkar held Rajan and his associates guilty of the murder and imposed a fine of Rs 26 lakh on each of the convicts.

The court acquitted journalist Jigna Vora, a reporter who was arrested in connection with the murder, as also Paulson Joseph, an associate of Rajan accused of handling the financial operations.

The others found guilty included Rajan’s associates Satish Kaliya, Anil Waghmode, Abhijit Shinde, Nilesh Shendge, Arun Dake, Mangesh Agawane, Sachin Gaikwad and Deepak Sisodia. Another accused, Vinod Asrani, died during the trial.

Rajan Nikhalje, as the gangster is known, attended the hearing via video conferencing. He is lodged in a high-security cell in New Delhi’s Tihar jail.

Dey, 51, was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne men on 11 June, 2011, in suburban Powai. In its submission before the special court, the prosecution said Rajan was unhappy with the reports put out by Dey in Mid-Day newspaper where he worked as senior editor. 

Jigna Vora was arrested for allegedly badmouthing Dey to Rajan and instigating the gangster against her colleague. However, the prosecution’s contention was thrown out by the court. Vora, who has been out on bail, broke down after her acquittal. Shortly after the conviction, special public prosecutor Pradeep Gharat demanded the maximum punishment for the convicts since it was an attack on the fourth pillar of democracy. 

The prosecutor also urged the court to award a part of the fine imposed on the convicts to Dey’s ailing sister. The journalist’s mother had passed away a few years ago.

Earlier, the prosecutor cited the statements made by several journalists who had given evidence in the matter. Rajan, he said, had spoken to mediapersons and regretted having ordered Dey’s murder. 

The gangster’s statements were taken as “extra-judicial confessions” by the prosecution. Voice samples taken from Rajan in Tihar jail matched with the recordings given by the gangster to journalists, according to the prosecution. Twelve people were arrested in the case. While 155 witnesses deposed in the case, seven were declared hostile.