Special court to try Chhota Rajan

The Bombay high court has designated a special court in Mumbai for conducting the trials of cases in which the deported gangster Rajendra Nikalje alias Chhota Rajan is an accused, a source has revealed. “The government had earlier sought permission for the same,” the source said. A government notification regarding the new court will be issued in a day or two. Rajan is facing around 70 cases in Maharashtra, among which is the murder case of journalist J. Dey. Chances are that the trial of this particular case will be transferred to the specially constituted court.

Earlier, the Maharashtra government had handed over all the cases against Rajan to the CBI and after this a question was raised as to how trials would be conducted. So, the state approached the high court to ask how the proceedings would take place, after which the high court designated this special court. A sessions judge, Sameer S. Adkar, is designated to hear all the cases against Rajan.

The special court had, in his order dated December 20, stated that the central agency had failed to appear before the court and intimate it about the status of the case after it had taken over the investigation. In these circumstances, the court had said that Rajan should be produced before the court and answer the charges against him.

Last month, the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act court of city had issued a production warrant against Rajan and directed the Tihar Jail officials in Delhi to produce him on January 7.

According to sources, a hearing via video conferencing was supposed to take place, but no decision has been taken over this.

Earlier, on October 25, last year, Rajan was arrested at Bali airport in Indonesia after he arrived there from Australia. He was later deported to India.