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Bhubaneswar/Mumbai: Seven years after the murder of veteran journalist Jyotirmoy Dey in Mumbai, the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court on Wednesday pronounced its verdict and sentenced life imprisonment to mafia don Rajendra Sadashiv Nikhalje alias Chhota Rajan and eight others in connection with the case. However, the court has acquitted two others, including journalist Jigna Vora who was accused of provoking the mafia don and Joseph Paulson, charged with providing SIM cards for executing the murder, due to lack of sufficient evidences against the duo.
In an exclusive interview to OTV over phone, the then Mumbai Police Commissioner, Arup Patnaik, who was in-charge of the investigation, revealed how the Mumbai Police carried out the investigation and was able to nab the accused in the case connecting all the dots.
The incident: Jyotirmoy Dey, a well-known crime reporter and investigative journalist of Mumbai, worked as Editor (Investigations) with Mid-Day when he was gunned down on June 11, 2011 near his residence in suburban Powai in Mumbai. He was killed at the behest of gangster Chhota Rajan. Four persons on two motorcycles fired four to five rounds from behind at Dey, who was also riding a bike, near Spectra Building at D Mart in Hiranandani area of Powai. He was immediately rushed to hospital where he was declared brought dead by the doctors.
Post Incident: Dey’s murder sent shockwaves through the media fraternity and put us under a spotlight. Dey being a renowned journalist, and shot at by miscreants during broad daylight gave rise to massive protests and we were immensely pressurized by senior officials for detention of the assailants. News channels, media houses continuously telecast the news and we were certainly under immense pressure to solve the case at the earliest. A delegation of the editors in a meeting asked me to give a deadline to solve the case. Though I could not assure them with a date, I promised them that I am going to crack the case soon.
Investigation Process: I constituted a team of the Crime branch along with local police and initiated an investigation but we did not have any clue regarding the crime. Many criminals confessed to have committed the crime but they were not the actual murderers, which we found out after interrogation. We were tipped off by our informers underground, and they said one Satish Kalia, who was a professional shooter, is involved in the case. And we knew, if Satish Kalia’s name has been brought in, involvement of Chhota Rajan is a must and he had direct links with the case. Everyone considered two people as Dons- one was Dawood Ibrahim, the other Chhota Rajan. The entire team expedited the investigation to find facts and evidences that would prove involvement of Chhota Rajan. In just 15 days, we arrested as many as 12 criminals involved in the murder.
Motive Behind Murder: During the course of investigation, we found that Dey had authored two books: "Khallas: An A to Z Guide to the Underworld" and "Zero Dial: The Dangerous World of Informers" and was finalizing a third, "Chindi: Rags to Riches", where he had portrayed mafia don Chhota Rajan a petty criminal. This was later brought to the notice of Chota Rajan by Dey’s professional rival Jigna Vora, and it was Vora who provoked Chhota Rajan. Irked, the don ordered his henchmen to shoot and kill him. Prior to the murder, they held several meetings and later the henchmen went to UP to fetch guns and bullets to commit the crime. They planned the murder in a way that none of them gets identified neither the motive revealed.
Chhota Rajan’s Arrest: Rajan was arrested from Bali. After his deportation to India, the Maharashtra government handed over the investigation to the CBI. A fresh FIR for murder and criminal conspiracy was filed under the Indian Penal Code along with relevant sections of the Arms Act.
Court Verdict: This is the first time the mafia don has been convicted for life imprisonment in a major case like murder. The court today convicted nine including Chhota Rajan and acquitted two persons in the J Dey murder case. The verdict was pronounced by MCOCA Court judge Sameer Adkar after hours of heated arguments between public prosecutor Pradeep Gharat and defence lawyers after the criminals were held guilty in the morning. Jigna had provided the registration number of J Dey’s bike to Rajan along with the residential address of Dey and as per the prosecution, professional rivalry was cited as the reason she instigated Rajan against Dey. However, the court acquitted Vora and Paulson due to lack of sufficient evidences.
About Chhota Rajan: Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje alias Chhota Rajan is a fugitive underworld don and one of India’s most wanted criminals. Rajan gained widespread sympathy and public attention after he broke away from the Dawood Ibrahim gang, condemning it for carrying out the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai. Rajan has over 70 cases against him, including the murder of Dey. Rajan was upset with the two articles written by Dey that purportedly portrayed him “as an ageing gangster”, and this was the prime reason he ordered his elimination.
