AMN / WEB DESK
The Bombay High Court has granted bail to gangster Chhota Rajan, who was convicted in the murder of hotelier Jaya Shetty in 2001. On 30 May this year, Chhota Rajan and others were convicted by a special MCOCA court, and Rajan was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Today, a division bench of Justice Revati Mohite-Dere and Justice Prithviraj Chavan granted bail to Rajan and suspended his life sentence until his appeal against the special MCOCA court’s judgment is decided. This is Rajan’s second life sentence, as he is already serving time for the murder of journalist Jyotirmoy Dey in 2011.
Rajan’s senior advocate, Sudeep Pasbola, argued that there was insufficient evidence for a conviction, stating, “There was no material available on the basis of which the accused could have been convicted.”
However, Special Public Prosecutor Pradeep Gharat opposed the bail plea, highlighting that Shetty had reported threats and extortion calls from Rajan before his murder. Gharat noted, “It was after being given police protection that Shetty had been gunned down.”
While Rajan’s bail in the Shetty case marks a significant development, his ongoing life sentence in the J Dey murder case prevents his immediate release from Tihar jail.