MUMBAI: On Wednesday, the court held eight accused — Rajan, sharpshooter Rohit Tangappa, alias
Satish Kalya (42), Arun Dake (32), Anil Waghmode (42), Mangesh Aagavane (31), Sachin Gaikwad (33), Abhijeet Shinde (32), and Nilesh Shedge (40) — guilty of conspiracy, murder and committing the murder as part of organised crime. It acquitted the ninth, Deepak Sisodia from Uttarakhand, of murder but held him guilty of criminal conspiracy under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), like Rajan and the others. One accused, Vinod Asrani, died pending trial and two are still absconding.
While Jigna, Paulson and Sisodia were out on bail, the others have been in custody since their 2011 arrest. Rajan was produced via video-conferencing from Tihar Jail, where he has been lodged since his extradition in October 2015. After the conviction was pronounced in the first half of the proceedings, the court explained it to Rajan in Marathi. The gangster nodded and said, “Theek aahe (It’s okay).”
In a 599-page judgment copy made available to the accused, special judge Sameer S Adkar said, “The prosecution has proved that the murder of
J Dey was committed in a well-planned manner and in pursuance of criminal conspiracy. It was an organised crime committed by the organised crime syndicate of
Chhota Rajan. Five bullets were fired at Dey. The murder of Dey was a cold-blooded act.” Special public prosecutor Pradeep Gharat had examined 155 witnesses during the trial.
The prosecution also proved recovery of revolver, cartridges, a four-wheeler, three motorcycles, mobile phones and SIM cards from various accused, including sharpshooter Kalya and Rajan. “The accused were entitled to rebut the presumption — under MCOCA — by adducing necessary evidence but, unfortunately, instead of doing so, they chose to be in denial mode,” said the judgment.
(File image)