The Mumbai Crime Branch will plead for extension of the deadline for filing the charge sheet in the J Dey murder case, in the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court on Wednesday, senior officials said on Tuesday.
The court had directed them to file the charge sheet by November 4.
J Dey, a senior reporter with a tabloid newspaper here, was shot dead in broad daylight by four motorcycle-borne assailants in June this year, allegedly at the behest of underworld gangster Chhota Rajan.
The Crime Branch arrested 10 persons and slapped MCOCA on them on July 8. “We can file a charge sheet within 180 days of applying the MCOCA. But after 90 days, we need to take the permission of the court for any extension,” a senior Crime Branch official said.
Initially, official sources had confirmed that the charge sheet would be filed in the special MCOCA court by Wednesday, but on Tuesday officials said that they would instead ask for an extension. Asked about the reason, an official said: “Investigation is still under progress. If we file a charge sheet tomorrow [Wednesday], we will anyway have to file a supplementary charge sheet. Now, we will file the entire thing,” he said.
Official sources said the Crime Branch would seek 45 more days. “We will submit the reasons for asking for an extension, in a sealed envelope to the court,” an official said, refusing to divulge more.
The Crime Branch is likely to name Chhota Rajan and firearms supplier Nain Singh Bisht as wanted accused. “We have a strong case, a case for conviction,” a senior official had said a few days ago.
The police arrested seven persons on June 27: Rohee Thangappan Joseph alias Satish Kalya (34); Abhijeet Kasharam Shinde (28); Arun Janardan Dake (27); Sachin Suresh Gaikwad (27); Anil Bhanudas Waghmode (35); Nilesh Narayan Shedge alias Bablu (34); and Mangesh Damodar Agawane (25).
They later arrested Vinod Asrani alias Vinod Chembur, a builder and a bookie who is known to be a close associate of Chhota Rajan; Paulson Joseph, another close aide of the gangster; and Deepak Sisodiya who allegedly supplied the crime weapon.
Interestingly, though Crime Branch officials have claimed that J Dey was shot dead at the behest of Chhota Rajan, they have remained tight-lipped about the motive. “We don't need to establish motive behind the killing. The other evidence is quite strong,” an official said.
