The Bombay High Court approved bail on Wednesday for gangster Chhota Rajan by suspending his life sentence connected to the murder of hotelier Jaya Shetty in Mumbai in 2001. The ruling came from a division bench made up of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan. They required Rajan to post a bond of ₹1 lakh to secure his bail. However, it’s important to note that Rajan will remain in custody due to his involvement in other criminal cases.
Background of the Case
Earlier this year, in May, a special court convicted Chhota Rajan for Jaya Shetty’s murder and sentenced him to life in prison. Following this verdict, Rajan appealed to the Bombay High Court, asking for his sentence to be suspended and for bail while his appeal was considered.
Who Was Jaya Shetty?
Jaya Shetty owned the Golden Crown hotel in Gamdevi, central Mumbai, and was shot dead by two suspected members of Chhota Rajan’s gang on May 4, 2001. Investigations revealed that Shetty had received extortion demands from Hemant Pujari, a gang associate, and was killed after he failed to pay the money.
Currently, Chhota Rajan is serving a life sentence for the murder of crime reporter J Dey and is held at Tihar Jail in Delhi.
Acquittal in Dr. Datta Samant’s Murder Case
In a different matter, a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court cleared Chhota Rajan last year of any involvement in the murder of Dr. Datta Samant, a prominent trade union leader who was shot in 1997. The court’s decision to acquit him was due to a lack of solid evidence, stating, “In this case, no incriminating evidence has come on record against the accused in respect of conspiracy to commit the murder of Dr. Datta Samant.”
Dr. Samant was killed on January 16, 1997, by four gunmen on Padmavati Road while he was driving from Powai to Ghatkopar in his jeep. While three people were convicted for his murder in 2000, Chhota Rajan was identified as a wanted suspect. He was apprehended in 2015 in Indonesia and brought back to Mumbai, where all his pending cases were assigned to the CBI.