Rajan said Jigna incited him against Dey: Witness

The statement of a witness in the chargesheet of the J Dey murder case, is one of the “key” evidences against journalist Jigna Vora, who allegedly instigated underworld don Chhota Rajan to kill the veteran reporter, a crime branch officer said.

The statement of a witness in the chargesheet of the J Dey murder case, is one of the “key” evidences against journalist Jigna Vora, who allegedly instigated underworld don Chhota Rajan to kill the veteran reporter, a crime branch officer said.

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This statement mentioned in the 3,055-page chargesheet is a "pivotal and key" testimonial evidence, which states that Rajan had ordered the murder of Dey and that Vora instigated the killing, the official told Press Trust of India.

The witness, who is a kin of arrested accused Vinod Asrani, had spoken to Rajan after the murder, when the latter had told the former that he regretted killing Dey, the officer said.

“The witness told us that Rajan called him and stated that he was regretting the murder of Dey and claimed that Jigna had incited him. The witness' statement was recorded under under section 164 of the CrPC before a magistrate. His statement is attached with the chargesheet,” he said.

Nearly six months after the murder of Jyotirmoy Dey, the Mumbai police on Saturday filed the chargesheet against 12 accused, including fugitive gangster Chhota Rajan, in the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court.

The chargesheet did not name the recently-arrested accused Vora, deputy bureau chief of The Asian Age. A supplementary chargesheet elaborating Vora's role in the crime will be filed later, police said.

Dey, a journalist at Mid Day, was shot in suburban Powai on June 11 by assailants, who followed him on motorcycles at the behest of Rajan, police said. Police also said Rajan gave R5 lakh to the accused for killing the journalist. Rajan had apparently ordered Dey’s killing as the latter had written articles against him.