He is the sole occupant of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)’s lockup cells’ block. The living space of Mumbai gangster Chhota Rajan, 55, is a large air-conditioned cell with an attached bathroom and a toilet while he lies on the floor, a blanket by his side, when not being interrogated.
The complex is guarded by commandos toting AK-47 assault rifles and trained in the Israeli hand-tohand combat technique — Krav Maga — as well as bomb-detection-and-disposal teams with sniffer dogs.
The CBI is taking such elaborate steps to protect Rajan from ‘threats’, including his fugitive rival gangster Dawood Ibrahim.
“Rajan has been kept in a large lockup cell, approximately 20 feet by 10 feet, which is air-conditioned as is the rest of the building. The cell has an attached toilet–cum-bathroom,” said the source.
The CBI may set up a special probe team, drawing officers from its special crime zone led by joint director Nina Singh, once the Maharashtra police hands over the 75-odd cases registered against Rajan to the CBI as per the state’s decision.
The CBI has taken Rajan in custody for ten days in a passport fraud case, while there is one more such case pending with the agency against him since 2002.
{{/usCountry}}The CBI has taken Rajan in custody for ten days in a passport fraud case, while there is one more such case pending with the agency against him since 2002.
{{/usCountry}}To supplement the measures, the agency has adopted a need-to-know protocol for agency officials for matters related to Rajan.
“Only case investigators or interrogators can visit Rajan in his lockup, nobody else,” said the source. The two-lane road outside the headquarters has sand bags stacked up near yellow metallic barricades, while CISF’s bomb-detection and disposal-squad with sniffer dogs surveys crevices and drain pipes along the road.