J Dey murder case: All convicts, including Chhota Rajan, sentenced to life by MCOCA court in Mumbai

Gangster Chhota Rajan and eight others convicted for killing senior journalist Jyotirmoy Dey were sentenced to life imprisonment by a special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court in Mumbai. Former journalist Jigna Vora, who was charged with instigating Rajan to carry out the killing, was earlier acquitted in the case. [caption id=“attachment_4454035” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Chhota Rajan. PTI[/caption] The judge also acquitted Paulson Joseph, who was accused of handling the financial operations concerned with the conspiracy. Vora broke down in the court soon after her acquittal was announced by the judge. This is the first major conviction for Rajan since he was deported to India following his arrest at Bali airport in Indonesia in 2015. Earlier last year, Rajan was convicted by a court in Delhi and sentenced to seven years imprisonment in a case of fake passports. Dey, 56, was shot by two motorcycle-borne men on 11 June, 2011, in suburban Powai when he was on his way to his residence. At that time, he worked as a senior editor for the tabloid Mid Day. According to the prosecution, the killing was carried out at the behest of Rajan, who was purportedly ‘unhappy’ with the negative reports that Dey had been writing on his health and his diminishing clout in the underworld. A total of 12 persons were arrested in the case, including Rajan, Satish Joseph alias Satish Kaliya, the shooter, and Vora. One of the accused, Vinod Asrani, died after prolonged illness in 2015, pending trial. According to the prosecution, Vora, who was out on bail during the pendency of the trial, had been in constant touch with Rajan before the incident. The CBI, in its chargesheet, had claimed Vora complained to Rajan about Dey, and instigated him to execute the conspiracy to kill him. The accused were booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to murder (302), criminal conspiracy (120(b) and destruction of evidence (204), and under provisions of the stringent MCOCA and the Arms Act. With inputs from PTI