Chhota Rajan’s Arrest: A Storm in a Tea Cup?

Considering that Chhota Rajan’s pockets aren’t that deep anymore, why not focus on delivering justice to his victims

Gangster Chhota Rajan after being captured. (Courtesy: Interpol/The picture has been altered by The Quint)

All the initial excitement about the arrest and deportation of the Mumbai don, Chhota Rajan from Bali (Indonesia) to India has died down. This does not come as a surprise because the mere common criminal that he is, Rajan had acquired somewhat of an aura only because it was widely believed he could help us nab Dawood Ibrahim – the main brain behind the 1993 Bombay blasts, who is being brazenly sheltered by Islamabad.

The myth had been debunked quite some time ago. I was, therefore, intrigued at the media hype, the moment there was news that Rajan had been apprehended by the Indonesian police on October 30 on arrival from Australia.

By all accounts, Rajan has outlived his utility to any of our agencies who had vowed to bring Dawood Ibrahim back to India. If you ignore the fact that Dawood and Rajan were bitter adversaries – determined to kill each other – and there was an assessment in the past that we could exploit this animosity to intensify our operation to nab Dawood, Rajan is of no use to us.

I am not very sure how much information could Rajan have collected while he was initially in Bangkok (where an attempt on his life was made, obviously by Dawood’s men) and subsequently from Australia. It is possible that he had made tall claims and had led a friend in the government, up the garden path.

Clever members of the underworld are often adept at building myths around themselves. I recall several from Mumbai, including Varadarajan Mudaliar, after whom a Tamil movie was made more than a decade ago. Rajan is one of those idolised by the media.

He has more than 70 cases against him in Mumbai, mostly murders and extortion. He is, therefore, a fugitive from justice. With such a profile he does not deserve to be deified as a patriot, all because he has an animus against the more devilish, Dawood.

In my view, patriotism and criminality do not go together. This is why I plead for no mercy to him. He has to be treated like any other offender, who had struck terror in the minds of law abiding citizens. Law enforcement will have to go the whole hog against him, if only to secure justice to his victims, some dead, and many still amidst us crying for reparation by the State, if not by the offender himself.

Gangster Chhota Rajan being escorted by police after being captured in Bali, Indonesia. (Photo: PTI)

All cases against Rajan have been transferred to the CBI. A few eyebrows have raised at this action, because over the years, there was growing suspicion that Rajan has many friends in the Indian establishment, who would like to treat them with kid gloves.

It is for the record that the CBI itself has registered a case against Rajan for having used a false passport to enter Australia. This gives the CBI direct authority and jurisdiction to investigate Rajan. The organisation has its job cut out, because it has to steer clear of attempts by those who want to bail out Rajan.

In addition, the cases themselves are pretty old – more than two decades since the connected incidents occurred – making the collection of evidence an uphill task. The silver lining is that, the affected individuals and families will be more than willing to talk without fear, as Rajan no longer enjoys any patronage in the underworld, having been away from the country for far too long.

I understand that the Mumbai police are aggrieved that the cases registered by them have been taken away from them. This is a legitimate grievance that cannot be ignored. There is the eternal debate of who is greater: a federal police or a provincial one?

File photo of Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje aka Chhota Rajan. (Photo: PTI)

We know how in the US, the FBI often rides roughshod over smaller police departments, leading to some bad blood. Our Chief Ministers are particularly notorious for howling at the CBI whenever the latter takes control of an investigation, against their wishes and following a Court order. They jibe saying that CBI officers are not a ‘heaven-born’ group with superior faculties and skill, to be preferred over state police.

Notwithstanding this acrimony, there is the one factor that favours the CBI. That is its insularity from local bad hats and criminal groups. Viewed from this perspective, New Delhi’s decision to transfer all Rajan cases to the CBI, of course, with the consent of the Maharashtra government, is unexceptionable.

I do not however believe that the investigation will come to fruition in the near future. This means Rajan will be a ‘state guest’ for a long, long time. This suits him because of his eternal fear that he will be eliminated by the Dawood men. Aren’t you amused?

(The writer is a former CBI Director.)