CBI’s ‘dedicated team’ for Chhota Rajan cases

The CBI is likely to constitute a “dedicated team” of its officials to probe all cases involving underworld don Chhota Rajan. The agency recently took over all the 71 cases registered against him by the Maharashtra police.

Sources said, “The agency is considering constituting a dedicated team of CBI officials to probe cases against Rajan. A final decision will soon be taken by the senior officials of the agency in this regard.”

The CBI has taken over all 71 cases against Rajan and it has also started re-registering them, they added. Rajan was detained by the Indonesian police in Bali on October 25, 2015 on his arrival from Australia against a Red Corner Notice issued by the Interpol.

Subsequently, he was handed over to CBI-Interpol (India) for his deportation to India on November 6, 2015.

The agency has already registered a case against Rajan and unknown public servants for allegedly issuing a passport to Rajan under the fake identity of Mohan Kumar in Harare, Zimbabwe in 2003 where he was hiding after escaping from Bangkok following an attempt on his life in the year 2000 by Dawood Ibrahim’s hitmen.

“CBI registered a case of alleged cheating, forgery, violation of the Passport Act and violation of the Prevention of Corruption Act. This is the second case of fake passport against him with the first one having been registered in 2002 for another passport, issued in 1996, with fake identity of Vijay Kadam, in Bangkok,” sources said.

The agency team had travelled in 2000 to Thailand to bring him back but he managed to give a slip and escaped.

The agency is also preparing to take assistance of the Interpol in nabbing associates of the underworld don operating in the South East Asian region.

According to sources, Rajan was staying in Australia since 2003 and he wanted to extend his residency period further in the oceanian country for handling operations of his well spread-out network in South East Asia smoothly.