Chhota Rajan seeks bail in Jaya Shetty murder case
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has fiercely opposed the request of underworld don Chhota Rajan, also known as Rajendra Nikalje, who has petitioned the Bombay High Court for a suspension of sentence and bail in the 2001 murder of hotelier Jaya Shetty.
A special CBI court in Mumbai, on May 30, convicted Rajan and sentenced him to life imprisonment. Three other shooters involved in the case had already been sentenced to life imprisonment in an earlier trial.
Shetty, the owner of the ‘Golden Crown’ hotel in South Mumbai, was gunned down in front of his office by two unidentified men on May 4, 2001. Following the event, one of the suspects, Ajay Suresh Mohite, also known as Ajay Surajbhan Shreshtha, Ajay Nepali, or Chikna, was apprehended with two weapons. He was suspected of shooting Shetty, while co-accused Kundansingh Rawat tried to flee but was eventually arrested.
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Rawat died before the trial ended, and Mohite was shot dead in an encounter while on parole following his conviction. Three others, including Mohite, were sentenced to life in jail, and this verdict was used to convict and sentence Rajan a few months ago.
Rajan’s plea, filed through counsel Sudeep Pasbola, contends that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt and that the evidence on record was insufficient to support his conviction.
The plea emphasizes that although Rajan’s trial and the trials of the other accused were conducted independently, the judge in Rajan’s case was purportedly greatly impacted by the earlier ruling. It should have been evident to the trial judge that the evidence was recorded separately from the other trial. The plea said that the evidence contained in the case was the only foundation upon which the current case was to be judged.
