Court summons three retired public servants in the case against Chhota Rajan

New Delhi: Three retired public servants, who were chargesheeted along with underworld don Chhota Rajan in an alleged fake passport case, have been summoned on 14 March by a Delhi court. [caption id=“attachment_2614106” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Chhota Rajan. PTI[/caption] Special CBI Judge Vinod Kumar summoned the three accused after taking cognisance of the CBI’s charge sheet in the case, as it observed that since these public servants have already retired, no sanction under section 19 of Prevention of Corruption Act was required to be taken before proceeding against them. According to the CBI, Rajan had got his first fake passport issued from Bengaluru on 1 January, 1998 allegedly in connivance with then passport officers — Jay Shree Rahate, Deepak Natvarlal Shah and Lalitha Laxamanan — in the name of a fictitious person, Mohan Kumar. During the hearing, Rajan who is currently lodged in Tihar Jail in New Delhi under judicial custody, was produced before court through video conferencing and informed that a charge sheet has been filed against him in the case. “Accused Rajendra Sada Shiv Nikhalje alias Chhota Rajan has been informed that charge sheet has been filed and cognizance has been taken. Let all the documents be supplied to accused Rajendra Sada Shiv Nikhalje in jail. Issue summons to remaining accused persons for March 14,” the court noted in its order. According to the CBI, Rajan had allegedly got his passport issued twice from Indian missions abroad on the basis of a fake travel document issued to him in the name of Mohan Kumar from the Bengaluru passport office in 1998. The agency has filed the charge sheet for alleged offences of criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery under the IPC and under the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act. The CBI sources has said these officers had allegedly ignored rules and regulations of verification while issuing the passport on fake identity and address. CBI has claimed that on the basis of passport issued in Mohan Kumar’s name, Rajan had allegedly got another passport issued on 19 December, 2003 from High commission of India at Harare, Zimbabwe, and another one from the Consulate General of India in Sydney. Deported after being on the run for 27 years, the 55-year old gangster, who was once a close aide of fugitive terrorist and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, was brought to India to face trial in over 70 cases of murder, extortion and drug smuggling in Delhi and Mumbai. He was deported to India after his arrest in Bali in October last year. PTI