Mafia don Chhota Rajan has been declared medically fit, even as some media reports suggested he had a kidney problem.
The don was said to be in need of dialysis, according to the same reports.
After being on the run for the past 27 years, Chhota Rajan or Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje was brought to India early Friday morning from Indonesia.
He was escorted by a joint team headed by CBI officials to face trial in various criminal cases registered against him in Delhi and Mumbai.
The 55-year-old gangster will be kept in Delhi where he will be questioned by various investigating agencies over his claims of having further evidence to nail Dawood Ibrahim, India’s most wanted terrorist, and his links with Pakistan’s intelligence agency, ISI.
After his arrival in an Indian Air Force Gulfstream-III aircraft from Bali, Rajan was whisked away to an undisclosed location under tight security.
Official cars with flashing lights accompanied by heavy-armed escort vans were seen leaving the Palam Technical Area at around 5:30 am, as anxious camerapersons and photographers made unsuccessful attempts to get a glimpse of Rajan.
Rajan had told the media in Bali that he was happy to return to his motherland and had rubbished reports that his arrest was orchestrated as he was facing a threat from Dawood’s men. In a surprising move ahead of his arrival in India, the Maharashtra government handed over to the CBI all cases related to Rajan.
This move comes barely a few days after the state Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had been making claims that Rajan will be brought only to Mumbai. Maharashtra’s sudden U-turn raised many eyebrows within the Mumbai police establishment as Fadnavis himself had ordered for the creation of a special cell inside Aurthur Road prison, with medical arrangements being made too.
Rajan is on dialysis as both kidneys are not working. After his arrest, he had expressed reservation over plans to lodge him in a Mumbai jail, fearing an attack from Dawood. Until all formalities pertaining to the case handovers from Maharastra are completed, Rajan will be in the custody of Special Cell of Delhi Police, which has six cases registered against him.
(With PTI inputs)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)