Sinha said that, “We tracked Chhota Rajan’s movements closely and informed the police in Indonesia and Australia”.
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CBI had issued a Red Corner Notice against Rajan in July, 1995 on the request of Mumbai Police which was probing cases against him.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh thanked Interpol and the Indonesian government for their cooperation. “We are making arrangments to bring him to India and pursue all criminal cases against him”. He, however, did not give any timeframe.
Rajan is considered an asset of the Indian Intelligence agencies and his arrest has fuelled speculation of an operation against the Dawood Ibrahim syndicate in the near future.
Rajan, one among India’s most needed gangsters, was arrested within the vacationer city of Bali on a Red Corner Notice issued by Interpol after eluding regulation enforcement businesses for over 20 years.
Among many crimes to his credit, Chhota Rajan’s name figured prominently in the killing of Mumbai journalist J Dey in Mumbai on June 11, 2011.
There is no extradition treaty between India and Indonesia.
He was travelling with the identity of Mohan Kumar with passport No. G9273860 when he was apprehended at the Bali airport, after arriving there on Garuda Indonesia flight GA715, by the Indonesian Police on a tip-off from Australian authorities, they said.
CBI spokesperson Devpreet Singh identified the person arrested as Mohan Kumar alias Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje alias Chota Rajan.
“Further action will be taken as required under the law”, she said.
Rajan, wearing an orange prison shirt, black shorts and cuffs, responded to NDTV’s question today on whether he was afraid of returning to India because of threats from his mentor turned rival Dawood Ibrahim.
Once in 2000, Dawood’s gang members successfully found out Rajan in a hotel in Bangkok, but he succeeded escaping the attempted murder.
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PS Pasricha, former DG, Maharashtra, told Times Now news channel that Rajan was “a very big catch”. Earlier, AFP reported that Rajan had come to Bali from Sydney.
