Rajan aide may have tried to float own gang: Police

Mumbai: In a bid to break away from the gang of gangster Chhota Rajan, who was extradited to India in November 2015 after his arrest in Indonesia, his close aide D.K. Rao is suspected to have attempted to branch out on his own after being released from jail in July last year in an extortion case.

The crime branch now seems to be tightening its grip on Rajan’s gang. The police is on the trail of another key member of the gang, Abu Sawant, who is suspected to be hiding in Singapore. Crime branch sources said Rao had allegedly stepped up his illegal activities, including issuing threats to builders and demanding cuts, while it is not clear if he was acting at the behest of the gang.

“We suspect he was trying to float his own gang in a bid to re-establish his illegal activities. It is evident as there were several complaints against him following his arrest. Rajan’s link is not traced yet, but that is also being probed,” said Dilip Sawant, deputy commissioner of police (detection, Mumbai crime branch).  

The officials said that the modus of Rao’s activities hints towards him targeting the property developers, mostly those into slum redevelopment. “There are several slum redevelopment projects in Dharavi-Antop Hill belt, which is a hotbed for slum pockets. Rao allegedly would not let slum redevelopment projects take shape till he was given his monetary cut,” said a crime branch officer.

Another prize catch of Rajan gang is Sawant whose extradition proposal was sent to the Interpol earlier this year after he was tracked down in Singapore. Sawant, who hails from Chembur’s Tilak Nagar area, is suspected to have led the Rajan gang’s finances and activities after the latter’s deportation to India.

Sawant’s arrest will help investigators get a clear picture of Rajan’s empire overseas and the financial dealings, officials said. He has been shuttling between Singapore and south-east Asian countries taking care of Rajan’s businesses, police sources revealed. In Singapore, Sawant is running one of Rajan’s plush hotels and figured on police’s radar in March this year.