Fake passport case: Chhota Rajan held guilty

New Delhi: A special CBI court on Monday held underworld don Chhota Rajan and three retired public servants guilty in connection with a fake passport case. 

Special CBI judge Virender Goyal fixed the matter for Tuesday when the quantum of sentence will be pronounced. The court noted that the prosecution was able to bring home the guilt of the accused. It then convicted Rajan possessing a fake passport by entering into a criminal conspiracy.  Rajan was appearing before the court through video-conference due to security reasons. 

Besides him, the other persons who have been convicted are three retired government servants — Jayashree Dattatray Rahate, Deepak Natvarlal Shah and Lalitha Lakshmanan.

Rajan is presently lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail. After convicting them the court asked the CBI officials to take them into custody. They were later remanded into judicial custody. 

The court noted in its order that Rajan had twice got passports issued in the name of Mohan Kumar on false and fabricated documents — first from Regional Passport Office, Bangalore and then from Consulate General of India, Sydney, Australia.

It said that signatures appearing in the application form for re-issue of passport given at RPO, Bangalore and on the passport issued by Consulate General of India, Sydney, Australia, on the basis of the same particulars, were the same and tallied with the specimen signatures of Rajan.

“In view of the above, it has been proved beyond reasonable doubt that all the accused persons entered into a criminal conspiracy to do an illegal act by illegal means and in consequence of the same, accused Rajan applied for re-issue of passport at RPO, Bangalore with false particulars supported with the forged and fabricated documents and the accused public servants accepted and proceeded the said application and issued passport in the name of Mohan Kumar, i.E. Rajan,” the court said.