MCOCA court allows CBI to interrogate Rajan on J Dey murder case

Mumbai

While granting CBI's plea seeking nod to question the 54-year-old crime boss, the special Judge A L Pansare directed the investigating agency to interrogate Rajan for 10 days, starting January 27.

The court however extended his Judicial custody till February 5. Rajan, who was produced via video link from Delhi's Tihar Jail told the court that he has received the charge sheet and needs time to go through it.

"I am kept in a high security cell and only taken out once in a week and need 15 days to a month for scanning the chargesheet and engaging a lawyer in Mumbai," Rajan told the court to which Judge Pansare informed the gangster that his (Delhi-based) lawyer Anshuman Sinha was present in the court.

On January 7, the court had reprimanded Mumbai Police for not serving the copy of the charge sheet to Rajan. "Why not yet? What are you waiting for....why are you waiting for an order for everything," the judge had asked.

Later, he had passed an order directing the police to serve the copy of charge sheet to Rajan. Rajan, a former key aide and lieutenant of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, was arrested at Bali airport in Indonesia on October 25 after he arrived from Australia, and was later deported to India.

He is facing around 70 cases in Maharashtra, which includes the J Dey murder case. Maharashtra government has handed over all the cases against him to CBI. Dey, a veteran crime reporter, was shot dead in suburban Powai by motor-cycle borne shooters on June 11, 2011 allegedly at the behest of Rajan.