Dawood aide Rashid Malabari was given flight tickets, $2,000 to bump off Chhota Rajan: Report

Ahead of underworld don Chhota Rajan’s deportation to India, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had said that all security arrangements are in place for him to brought to Mumbai. But he has much to worry about on the security front if Rajan, is, indeed, brought to Mumbai. A Hindustan Times report has brought to light fresh details about the assassination attempt on Chhota Rajan, which are based on documents in which the man who made the attempt made revelations to security forces. [caption id=“attachment_2496450” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo. Image courtesy: PTi[/caption] According to the report, Rashid Malabari told security agencies that Shakeel asked him to go to Bangkok and he was given flight tickets, documentation and $2,000 for the operation. Malabari later fled to Cambodia and then to Pakistan after the attempt to kill Rajan failed, according to the report. Malabari was arrested by the Mangalore Police in 2009 for an alleged attempt to assassinate some leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Sri Ram Sene, including Varun Gandhi and Pramod Muthalik, as reported by The Hindu. In the year 2000, Rajan had escaped a bid on his life made by members of Dawood Ibrahim’s gang led by Chhota Shakeel. The gangsters reportedly approached Rajan in the guise of pizza delivery boys. After he escaped the attack, he was hospitalised, and later managed to evade arrest and flee the hospital as well. While Rajan was to arrive in India earlier this week, his return was delayed because of a volcanic eruption in Indonesia, due to which several flights were cancelled. He was arrested on the basis of a red-corner notice issued by Interpol, following a tip-off by Australian authorities. Earlier, an Indian police team comprising officers from the CBI, Mumbai police and Delhi police arrived in Delhi with a detailed dossier on him.