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Journalism of Courage
MUMBAI, SEPT 29: A crack team of the Mumbai police is headed for Bangkok on Sunday evening ostensibly to assist the Thai police in the investigation into the Chhota Rajan shootout. The unstated purpose is to identify Rajan himself after matching finger-prints in the Mumbai police records, identifying the shooters and preparing the ground in the event that Rajan flees to India.
The team will be led by Shankar Kamble, Assistant Commissioner of Police (detection) and will comprise sub-inspectors Hemant Desai and Sudhakar Pujari. Kamble is attached to the police headquarters while Desai and Pujari are from the Crime Branch unit VI and VII respectively. Speaking to Newsline, ACP Kamble confirmed their departure and said their primary task was assist Thai authorities in the investigation. Since both the target as well as the shooters figure in the criminal records of the Mumbai police. Though initial investigation in Bangkok has provided little insight into the killing, the identification of Chhota Rajan and matching of the finger prints may go a long way to bring the case to its logical conclusion, remarked a crime branch officer.
The Mumbai police is proceeding on the premise that Rajan’s health is not very stable and it may take weeks before they can interrogate him. Also, since he is for violating immigration rules in Bangkok by using the false name of Vijay Daman to obtain a Thai tourist visa, the interrogation may be done there earlier.
Rajendra Nikhalje alias Chhota Rajan alias Vijay Daman is named in atleast 15 murders in India and Australia. There are other serious offences registered against him in other South East Asian countries.
Rajan, it seemed, had entered Thailand on a tourist visa which is easy to obtain. He had applied to the immigration authorities to issue him a business visa as he was keen to developing a import-export firm in Thailand.Rajan’s close associate Rohit Verma alias Rohit D’Souza was killed in the shootout. Verma’s wife Sanjeeta alias Sikandi Hama who was injured in the firing has identified one of the shooters.
