Chhota Rajan may be brought back today

He is likely to be questioned in New Delhi first.

Indonesian plainclothes policemen escort Indian gangster Rajendra Nikalje (C), widely known as Chhota Rajan, as they walk at Denpasar police office October 29, 2015, in this picture taken by Antara Foto. Indonesian police have arrested Nikalje, one of India's most wanted gangsters and sought in more than two dozen murder cases, on the resort island of Bali, the Central Bureau of Investigation said on Monday, ending a two-decade-long international manhunt. Nikalje has been on Interpol's wanted list since 1995 for running a crime syndicate that engaged in extortion, arms smuggling and contract killing. REUTERS/Nyoman Budhiana/Antara Foto ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. MANDATORY CREDIT. INDONESIA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN INDONESIA.

Mumbai underworld don Chhota Rajan, now in police custody in Bali, Indonesia, is likely to be deported back to India as “early as Tuesday.”

Sources in Mumbai told The Hindu on Monday that the Mumbai police would likely get the final custody of Rajan once he was brought back to India.

He will be flown from Bali first to New Delhi, and then to Mumbai.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the nodal agency in India for Interpol coordination, will likely question him in a passport forgery case first, and then hand him over to the Mumbai Police.

The Mumbai Crime Branch, however, refused to give an official comment.

“We have no confirmation [if he is being brought to Delhi or Mumbai],” said Atulchandra Kulkarni, Joint Commissioner (Crime), when asked where the flight would land. A team comprising officials from the Mumbai Crime Branch, the CBI and the Delhi Police Special Cell has been camping in Bali to work on Rajan’s deportation.

The gangster is wanted in 70 criminal cases in Mumbai, including those relating to the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA), the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) and the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). The 55-year-old gangster has been on the run for over two decades since the Interpol Red Corner Notice was issued against him in 1995.

A Mumbai resident, Rajan was considered the closest aide of fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim but fell out with him after the 1993 serial blasts.

The two have even attempted to eliminate each other on various occasions since.

Police sources said in Mumbai that Rajan had likely surrendered in the wake of his poor health and threats from Dawood aide Chhota Shakeel.

The gangster, however, denied this when he spoke to reporters in Bali last week.

Officials in New Delhi said Indian authorities had fully complied with legal requirements necessary for Indonesia to carry out Rajan’s deportation. As part of the process, officials submitted documentation related to various criminal cases against him in India, both in Mumbai and Delhi, as well as arrest warrants issued against him by courts for appearances in many of them. The team also produced the necessary administrative request to the Indonesian authorities to deport him, sources said.

The Indonesian government attorney was expected to produce the necessary executive order from the host country showing its willingness to send back Rajan, and declaring it was satisfied New Delhi had fulfilled requirements regarding the deportation request.