A special court will start the trial of journalist J Dey’s murder case on a daily basis from December 17. It is important to note that underworld don Chhota Rajan was shown as an absconding accused in the case.
The Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court will start recording the statements of witnesses from December 17 on a day-to-day basis.Dileep Shah, Public Prosecutor
Shah said he had sought time of two weeks to prepare himself for the case. Raja Thackare who was the public prosecutor before him had resigned last month.
He told PTI that special judge A L Pansare observed that though the state government has handed over all the cases against the underworld don to CBI, the government notification was silent on conducting trials.
Rajan, who is shown as an absconding accused in the murder case, was arrested on the basis of an Interpol Red Corner notice at Bali airport on October 25. He was deported to India on November 6.
A Brief History
Dey, working with Mumbai’s Mid-Day, was shot dead in suburban Powai on June 11, 2011, by assailants on a motorbike.
Another journalist, identified as Jigna Vora, is accused of passing on key information like the number plate of Dey’s motorcycle and his address, to the don. She had been arrested in November 2011 and granted bail in July 2012.
The police had filed a charge sheet in December 2011 against the arrested accused, namely Satiah Kaliya, Abhijeet Shinde, Arun Dake, Sachin Gaikwad, Anil Waghmode, Nilesh Shendge, Mangesh Agawane, Vinod Asrani, Paulson Joseph and Deepak Sisodia.
Later, a separate charge sheet was filed against journalist Vora. According to the police, Rajan who was upset with two articles written by Dey purportedly portraying him in a bad light, had ordered his killing.
As per the charge sheet, Vora allegedly instigated the underworld don to execute Dey owing to professional rivalry.
The court had framed charges against 11 accused, including Vora, on June 8. The court had charged the accused with being members of Rajan’s gang and hatching a conspiracy to murder Dey.
(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.)