Not so chhota bungle

It is utterly scandalous how the Centre has been dragging its heels for almost three weeks over Chhota Rajan's extradition. Someone in the...

It is utterly scandalous how the Centre has been dragging its heels for almost three weeks over Chhota Rajan’s extradition. Someone in the Union Home ministry or ministry for External Affairs should have an explanation for it. It is hard to imagine what a credible explanation would be. Here is a heaven-sent opportunity to catch him and the government is letting him slip through its fingers. The excuse that extradition papers are not in order will not wash. The Thai authorities have offered the notorious criminal to India on a platter. Thailand’s commissioner for immigration, Lt General Hemaraj Thareethai, has said he asked New Delhi to apply for Rajan’s extradition. The Thai authorities could not have made it plainer than this, they do not want to be involved in Indian mafia wars and would be only too happy to have Rajan taken off their hands. All it requires is for the MEA to make a formal request. But that has not been forthcoming. While the clock has been ticking, there has been the usual buck-passingbetween the central ministries and ridiculous arguments about which is the “nodal agency”. The only people amused by this shabby performance are India’s expatriate community of criminals.

Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister, Chaggan Bhujbal, is right to blame the Centre for not cooperating with the state in its efforts to nab Rajan. The CBI may not have a case against him but Maharashtra certainly does. He is wanted by the Mumbai police on several counts of murder. New Delhi should have acted long ago when his identity was confirmed through fingerprints and Maharashtra officially requested his extradition. Instead, the Home Ministry has put obstacles in the way of state officials going to Bangkok to assist with the arrest. The long delay gives rise to the suspicion that there is a deliberate attempt to avoid bringing Rajan to justice. It is impossible to believe that the 20 days since he was shot in Bangkok and laid up in hospital have not been enough time for Indian authorities to get their act together.

Indian authorities have been shown in a poor light abroad, as bumbling incompetents or worse. It needed the Thai police to arrest him for entering their country on an “illegal” passport. At home, the wrong messages are going out. All kinds of speculation is rife: that big crime has friends in high places, that Chhota Rajan is protected because he is the Hindu communalists’ counter to Dawood Ibrahim, that this is a return of favours, for the mafia don’s help in rounding up ISI operatives, and so on and so forth. It is time to put an end to these dark mysteries. The best way to end the wild conjecture is to bring Chhota Rajan back. It needs to be demonstrated that no one is above the law, that there can be no raison d’etat or any other kind of justifications for not bringing in a major criminal. From Ukhrul to Rajouri, Bangkok to Karachi, those who would defy the law and wreak violence on society are waiting to see whether the likes of Chhota Rajan can get the better of Indian authorities again.