Day-to-day trial for J Dey case

The MCOCA court has decided to conduct a day-to-day trial from December 17 in senior journalist J. Dey’s murder case after the judicial department appointed advocate Dilip Shah as special public prosecutor in the case. Recently arrested underworld figure Chhota Rajan is also an accused in this case.

The trial in this matter could not be started earlier as special public prosecutor Raja Thakre and Awdut Chimulkar had resigned from the case. Their resignation came on the heels of the government decision to hand over all the cases related to Rajan to the CBI.

After all the cases related to Rajan was handed over to the CBI, the police had informed the same to the court and had requested the court to adjourn the matter as the copy of notification was not received by them and it was not clear if the trial would be transferred to the special CBI court.

According to advocate Shah, special Judge A.L. Pansare observed that though the state government has handed over all the cases against Rajan to the CBI the notification was silent on the trials. After his appointment, advocate Shah has sought two weeks’ time to prepare the case.

Rajan was shown as an absconding accused in the Dey murder case. He was arrested on the basis of an Interpol Red Corner notice at Bali airport on October 25 after he reached Bali from Australia while he was deported on November 6.

Dey was shot dead in suburban Powai on June 11, 2011 by assailants who followed him on motorcycles. Scribe Jigna Vora was accused of passing on key information like the number plate of the slain journalist’s motorcycle and his address to the fugitive don. The police had arrested her on November 2011 and she was granted bail on July 2012.