J Dey murder: Chhota Rajan to spend rest of his life in Tihar jail; updates

A Special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court on Wednesday sentenced to life imprisonment mafia don Rajendra S. Nikhalje alias Chhota Rajan and eight others for the 2011 killing of veteran journalist J. Dey. Asked for his reaction, Chhota Rajan remarked: "Theek hai." (It's okay). "This is the first time the mafia don has been convicted for life imprisonment in a major case like murder," Special Public Prosecutor Pradep Gharat told IANS. Last year, he was sentenced to seven years in jail for passport forgery. The verdict was pronounced by Special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) Court judge Sameer Adkar after hours of heated arguments between Gharat and defence lawyers after the criminals were held guilty in the morning.

The 56-year old Dey, a well-known crime reporter of Mumbai, worked as Editor (Investigations) with Mid-Day when he was gunned down on June 11, 2011 near his residence in suburban Powai. He had authored two books: "Khallas: An A to Z Guide to the Underworld" and "Zero Dial: The Dangerous World of Informers" and was finalizing a third, "Chindi: Rags to Riches". In the upcoming book, he had reportedly portrayed the mafia don as 'Chindi' (petty) criminal, which apparently irked Chhota Rajan.

"Dey was a journalist. He represented the fourth pillar of Democracy. This case should be considered as the 'rarest of rare'. A strong message needs to be sent out," argued Gharat while demanding capital punishment for the accused. After the verdict, Special Judge Adkar turned to Chhota Rajan, 59, who was produced in a video-conference from Delhi's Tihar Central Jail, and said: "You will be spending your entire life in jail. Do you have anything to say?" After a moment, without any visible emotion, the gangster replied softly: "Theek hai." (It's okay). The courtroom was packed.