Chhota Rajan convicted for murder of Mumbai hotelier Jaya Shetty
Underworld gangster Chhota Rajan has been convicted by a special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court for the 2001 murder of Mumbai hotelier Jaya Shetty. The verdict was delivered by Special Judge AM Patil, who is set to announce the sentence later in the day. Shetty, owner of Golden Crown hotel, was gunned down by two members of the gang inside his hotel on May 4, 2001.
Details of the murder and extortion threats unveiled
The court found that Rajan, along with four others, conspired to kill Shetty. The special court had already convicted three of Rajan's co-accused, Ajay Mohite, Pramod Dhonde, and Rahul Pansare, back in 2013. Prior to his death, Shetty had been receiving extortion calls from the Chhota Rajan gang. Due to the threats, the Maharashtra police had given him security cover. However, his security cover was removed two months before the murder.
Chhota Rajan's criminal history and current incarceration
Shortly after Shetty's death, a close aide of Rajan, Hemant Pujari, allegedly threatened to "wash out" the family if extortion money was not paid. Pujari remains a suspect in the case. Rajan is currently serving time in Delhi's Tihar Jail following his deportation to India after his arrest in Indonesia in October 2015. He is implicated in approximately 70 cases in Maharashtra and is already serving a life sentence for the high-profile murder of journalist J Dey in 2011.
