Mumbai Police registered 13 cases connected to Kalyan Matka allegedly controlled by Jaya Chheda following which she was also named an accused in these cases. (File photo)The Mumbai Crime Branch has registered 13 new cases against ‘Matka Queen’ Jaya Chheda in connection with gambling cases. Who is Jaya Chheda and what is her connection with the ‘matka’ business?
Who is Jaya Chheda?
Jaya Chheda was the wife of ‘Matka King’ Suresh Bhagat who was running the Kalyan Matka business in the city, one of the most popular ‘matka’ businesses in the state. He died in 2008 after a truck rammed his car. It was done at the behest of Jaya Chheda, their son Hitesh, and boyfriend Suhas Roge, a member of the Arun Gawli gang, as she wanted to take over the Kalyan Matka business suspected to be worth Rs 3,000 crore.
Following Suresh’s death, Jaya took over the matka business in the city. However, she was convicted in 2013 and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Mumbai sessions court, which found her and five others guilty of murdering Bhagat.
A decade later in 2018, she was granted bail by the Bombay High Court on grounds that included medical ailments.
What is the matka business?
‘Matka’ as a form of lottery is said to have been started in Mumbai city by one Kalyanji Gala, where three numbers of a deck of playing cards were drawn. People could bet a rupee upwards, predicting either one, two, or all three numbers, winning or losing money based on their guesses.
Why was there a murder bid on Jaya Chheda and her sister in 2020?
Five persons, including Vinod Bhagat, elder brother of Suresh Bhagat, had been arrested by the Mumbai police in connection with a plot to murder Jaya and her sister Asha on the day Asha’s son was to get married on December 10, 2020, at a marriage hall in Chembur. The accused reached the spot on the day. However, the plan had to be called off at the last moment as there was a huge crowd at the spot. The police said that Vinod wanted to avenge the murder of his brother and also regain the matka business, and hence he plotted to kill Chheda.
Why have the Mumbai police registered cases against her now?
For the past few months, the Mumbai Crime Branch has been undertaking a drive against gambling in the city. In all, they registered 13 cases connected to Kalyan Matka allegedly controlled by Jaya Chheda following which she was also named an accused in these cases. Chheda then approached the court seeking anticipatory bail in the matter. She argued that she has been falsely implicated in the cases. The court is likely to hear the pleas this week.