Mumbai Police: 'We were not given access to Rajan in Bali or on the flight'

Mumbai: The Mumbai police team which went to Bali, Indonesia, to secure deportation of Chhota Rajan was not allowed to meet the gangster even once, an official today said. [caption id=“attachment_2497140” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Chhota Rajan and Mumbai Police/ PTI[/caption] “Our team did not have any access to Rajan, all the communication they received was through the (Indian) consulate official in Bali,” said a senior crime branch official here. The police team, which had left Mumbai on October 30, had only a glimpse of Rajan four days later, on November 3. Rajan was arrested on the basis of an Interpol Red Corner notice at Bali airport on October 25 after he reached Bali from Australia. The senior official also said that this was Rajan’s first visit to Indonesia and he had planned to spend at least 15 days there on a “vacation”. Even during the flight back to Delhi, the Mumbai police team couldn’t speak to Rajan. “It was a 10-hour flight from Bali to Mumbai. Most of the time Rajan was sleeping. A team of seven officials, comprising men from Mumbai police, CBI and Delhi Special Cell, accompanied him,” the official said. He also said that contrary to past media reports, Rajan doesn’t have any kidney ailment, though he has had a heart bypass surgery. A day before Rajan landed in Delhi, Maharashtra government, in a surprise move, decided to transfer all the cases against him to CBI. Rajan had earlier told mediapersons that some police officers in Mumbai were on the payroll of his rival and fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim. Mumbai police had till now not shared any documents pertaining to cases against the gangster with CBI as they were awaiting notification from the state government, the crime branch official said. IANS