Chhota Rajan discharged in 2002 extortion case

MUMBAI: A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Friday discharged gangster Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje alias Chhota Rajan from a 2002 extortion case.

Additional sessions judge AT Wankhede passed the order.

According to the complaint filed by Virendra Jain, a businessman, some unidentified persons had demanded ₹25 lakhs from him and threatened him using the name of Chhota Rajan. The Mumbai Police had filed a charge-sheet in the matter against four people including Rajan, Bunty Pandey and Prince Singh.

When Rajan was deported back to India, the case was transferred to CBI in February 2018.

While the court was to frame charges in the matter, Rajan’s counsel, Tushar Khandhare moved an application citing lack of evidence against Rajan to frame charges and carry trial.

He had told the court that the

CBI had not brought on record any new evidence, apart from what was submitted by the Mumbai Police, in its charge sheet. Based on the Mumbai Police’s evidence, the two accused were discharged by a court. “Pandey and Prince were already discharged in the case before Rajan’s deportation. Rajan has no direct role in the case. He had neither threatened the complainant nor called him. Only his name was used by the accused,” Khandhare counsel of Rajan argued in discharge plea.

Pradeep Gharat, special public prosecutor in the case, for the agency, had argued that Rajan’s name was used by the accused to extort money, which was enough to frame charges in the case. However, the court, acting on the discharge plea, disposed of Rajan’s plea and discharged him from the case.

On 28th October, Rajan was acquitted of all charges in a 1983 attempt to murder case by the same court, in which he had attacked policemen in Chembur, due to no independent witness in the case.