An officer from the Mumbai crime branch travelled to New Delhi on Thursday to brief the ministry of home affairs on the status of important cases registered against arrested gangster Chhota Rajan.
A source in the crime branch said that the officer also took with him Rajan’s photographs, fingerprint records and other crucial documentary evidence of his alleged involvement in serious crimes in Mumbai.
The source added that while a large number of documents pertaining to Rajan were being translated and sent to the ministry as soft copies, the officer was sent to Delhi to hand-deliver crucial pieces of evidence such as photographs and fingerprints.
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The officer will return to Mumbai in few of days, following a briefing, which will pave the way for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) – India’s Interpol wing – to travel to Bali with the original documents to put up their case.
To date, the Mumbai police have come across at least 75 cases against Rajan, including at least four under the defunct Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (registered between 1992 and 1994); one under the defunct Prevention of Terrorism Act (registered in 2011); and around a dozen of cases under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act and the Arms Act. Rajan also faces over 28 cases of extortion.
{{/usCountry}}To date, the Mumbai police have come across at least 75 cases against Rajan, including at least four under the defunct Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (registered between 1992 and 1994); one under the defunct Prevention of Terrorism Act (registered in 2011); and around a dozen of cases under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act and the Arms Act. Rajan also faces over 28 cases of extortion.
{{/usCountry}}A team from the Mumbai crime branch may also join the CBI team seeking Rajan’s custody, to enable better coordination with their counterparts in Indonesia and prevent any last-minute glitches.
“[The plan] is still at a primitive stage and we are unsure at the moment whether Mumbai police officers will also go to Bali,” said Atulchandra Kulkarni, joint commissioner of police (crime). A source said the police will seek clarity from the central government on the crime branch officer’s return from Delhi before deciding whether or not to send a team to Bali.
Rajan was arrested at Bali airport on Sunday on the basis of a 1995 red corner notice (international arrest warrant), which was renewed in June this year.