A Shiv Sena MLA, who is a prosecution witness in the journalist Jyotirmoy alias J Dey murder case of 2011, was declared hostile after he denied receiving a call from one of the accused as contended by the CBI before a special Mumbai court on Monday
J Dey
A Shiv Sena MLA, who is a prosecution witness in the journalist Jyotirmoy alias J Dey murder case of 2011, was declared hostile after he denied receiving a call from one of the accused as contended by the CBI before a special Mumbai court on Monday.
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"MLA Sunil Raut appeared before the court as a prosecution witness. However, he was declared hostile as he did not support the case of prosecution," special public prosecutor Pradeep Gharat said. Citing the CBI, Gharat said Raut had received and attended a call from an international calling card number on his phone, but in court he denied taking that call.
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According to the CBI, the call was made by Paulson Joseph, one of the accused in the case, he said. "This is the same number that gangster Chhota Rajan (the prime accused in the murder case) used to get in touch with journalists after the murder of Dey," the special public prosecutor said.
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However, the exact date and time of the purported call are not known. Raut is a sitting legislator from Vikhroli in Mumbai. Dey, working with an English tabloid here, was shot dead in suburban Powai on June 11, 2011. The court on August 31 last year had framed charges against Rajan. According to a supplementary charge sheet filed by the CBI, Rajan had the veteran crime reporter killed because he was miffed with some articles written by him, and also because a book being written by Dey portrayed him as a 'chindi' criminal.