The Central Bureau of Investigation has taken over seven more cases registered against gangster Rajendra Nikhalje alias Chhota Rajan for further investigation. Charges invoked in the cases range from attempt to murder to extortion and criminal intimidation, officers said.
The move is part of the central government’s orders to bring all the cases against Rajan, who was arrested and extradited to India in November 2015, under the ambit of a single agency.
Officials said of these seven cases, which were officially transferred to CBI late on Friday night, the oldest was registered in January 1993, when Rajan was still part of Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar’s gang. Although the offence was allegedly committed in 1991, the victim, a Bhandup-based businessman, approached the police only in 1993.
“The case was a typical one from the 1990s, when the underworld would involve itself in business dispute and ‘settle’ them through fear and intimidation in exchange for a hefty fee,” a senior Mumbai Crime Branch officer recalled.
In this case, the businessman was targetted for several months in 1991, during which period he even paid ₹ 3.50 lakh to Rajan’s men and ultimately fled the city. He was kidnapped again when he visited his family in 1993 and also assaulted, following which he approached the Mumbai Crime Branch.
Another significant case, among the seven taken over by the CBI, include one registered in September 2009, when Rajan allegedly threatened a Republican Party of India member, who was campaigning for Rajan’s brother Deepak in the 2009 Assembly polls. Mr. Deepak was pitted against Chandrakant Handore of Congress.
“Deepak could not be my own despite being my brother. He is not a good person. You work for Handore, meet my [other] brother Satish if you need anything,” Rajan is alleged to have personally told the complainant on the phone, while also threatening to kill him if he did not comply. When the threats increased, the complainant approached the Chembur police.
Officials said the other five cases, which were all registered between the early 1990s and 2000s, include a variety of charges, including attempt on the life of an alleged D-gang affiliate, who was shot at outside his shop on the Mohammed Ali Road in October 1996.
Another case, which was registered in April 2001, is one pertaining to preparing for a dacoity. However, in this case those absconding include key members of the Rajan gang, including Guru Satam, Ravi Pujari and Yusuf Suleiman Kadri alias Yusuf Bachkana.
