As cases against deported underworld don Chhota Rajan have been transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), chances of Rajan being brought back to Mumbai have become bleak. Senior home officials are still unclear about whether Rajan will be brought back to the city where most of the crimes were carried out by him and his gangsters.
As news of Rajan’s arrest in Bali, Indonesia broke out, Maharashtra home officials along with senior Mumbai police officials swung into action to prepare for his safe accommodation. A separate high security area was created at Arthur Road jail to ensure that Rajan would remain safe and secure until cases against him are not disposed of.
But Maharashtra government on Thursday suddenly decided to hand over all the cases related to Rajan to the CBI, leaving Mumbai police officials in a state of shock. “We cannot understand why all the cases related to Chhota Rajan were transferred to the CBI. It is difficult to comprehend,” said a senior IPS official on condition of anonymity. “However, it is true that with this decision, chances of Rajan being brought back to the city have also ended,” he added.
Though cases against Rajan have been transferred to the CBI, cases going on in different courts in the city cannot be transferred. For that matter, he has to be present before the court for hearing, another IPS officer pointed out. “Everything depends on the CBI now as they could make use of video conferencing facility for court appearance citing threat to his life,” he said.
Senior home officials are also unsure if Rajan can be brought back to the city. “In the current scenario, it is unlikely that he will be brought to Mumbai in the near future and it appears that all our preparations for his safe accommodation turned out to be futile,” a senior official said requesting anonymity.
