New Delhi: Sleuths of Indian security agencies are likely to head for Bali in Indonesia in the next two days to bring back the prized catch, gangster Chhota Rajan, where he is in custody since Sunday. The sources are tightlipped about the exact arrangements to bring him back because of security concerns arising out of his fierce rivalry with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his gang.
The officials said that the agencies are working on more than one plan to bring back 55-year-old Rajan, once known as Dawood’s right hand man, factoring various permutations and combinations. When asked whether a team has been dispatched already to bring Rajan back, CBI sources did not reply but later said no details can be shared at this stage and everything will be done as per law.
Meanwhile, Rajan is believed to be living in Sydney on genuine documents issued to him there but with fake details such as name, age, address. The gangster was travelling with the identity of Mohan Kumar with passport number G9273860 when he was apprehended at the Bali airport, after arriving there on a Garuda Indonesia flight GA715, by the Indonesian Police on a tip off from Australian authorities, they said.
The sources said Rajan was in touch with various police officials for last six months seeking a passage to return to India as he feared for his life in Australia from Chhota Shakeel, a henchman of Dawood.
Asked how soon Rajan would be brought back to India from Indonesia, where he was arrested two days ago, Rijiju said the laws in Indonesia and India were different and both countries were exploring them. “We are exploring all provisions of law and bilateral agreement between India and Indonesia. The process is on to bring back Chhota Rajan to India soon,” Rijiju said.
Rajan, one of India’s most wanted gangsters, was arrested in Bali, a popular Indonesian tourist destination, on a Red Corner Notice issued by Interpol in 1995 after eluding law enforcement agencies for over two decades.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said,”We will request the authorities to handover Chhota Rajan to Maharashtra. Chhota Rajan committed many crimes in Maharashtra. We will provide evidence against him.”
When asked about bringing Rajan back, India’s Ambassador to Indonesia Gurjit Singh said in Jakarta that there will be no problem in the process because of existing laws.
“…In the past we have gone beyond these treaties to fulfil our objectives. So I don’t think it is the absence or presence of any legal document. The point I would like to emphasise is that India and Indonesia have a very warm relationship. It is multi-faceted and deep,” Singh said.
Born in Mumbai, Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje alias Mohan Kumar alias Chhota Rajan is wanted for multiple charges including murder, extortion and possession and use of illegal firearms.
One of the cases against him is the murder of journalist Jyotimoy Dey in 2011.
In 2000, there was an attempt on his life when Dawood’s men tracked him down to a hotel in Bangkok but he managed a dramatic escape through the hotel’s roof.
According to serving and former police officers, who have dealt with the Mumbai underworld, arrest of Rajan is a major success and his questioning is expected to shed light on hitherto unknown facts related to cases linked to his syndicate.
