‘He has no respect for country’s laws’: CBI opposes Chhota Rajan's bail plea in Bombay HC

The Central Bureau of Investigation opposed Chhota Rajans bail plea in the Bombay High Court on Wednesday and said the gangster had no respect for the countrys lawsSpecial Public Prosecutor Pardeep Gharat told a single bench presided over by Justice Anuja Prabhudesai that Rajan had multiple cases pending against him and was convicted and sentenced in a host of other casesGharat urged the high court not to grant bail to Rajan saying the gangster was a Z plus security threatHe said Rajan had fled India and travelled to several other countries on fake names and passports before he was finally arrested and extradited to India in November 2015Also Read Exaide of Chhota Rajan held from Gujarat by Maharashtra police probing assault on two lawyersRajan was extradited from Indonesia in 2015 and has been in judicial custody at the Tihar prison in New Delhi since thenGharat was making submissions opposing an interim application filed by Rajan seeking bail in a case of attempt to murder a hotelierRajan was sentenced to imprisonment for eight years in the case by a special court in Mumbai in 2019 under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act MCOCAHowever Rajans counsel senior advocate Sudeep Pasbola told the HC that there was no credible evidence against the gangster in the caseI Rajan have been convicted on the charge of conspiracy only All the other accused persons in the case including those who were actual assailants have been out on bail so I deserve parity Pasbola told the HCThere is no direct evidence against me Only a hearsay statement by two witnesses which was not based upon their personal knowledge was cited as evidence against me These statements were based on information given by one of their coaccused who is absconding Pasbola saidGharat however told the HC that while Rajan was in the CBIs custody in the case since April 2016 his coaccused who were granted bail were in custody since 2009Besides Rajan still had 14 to 15 cases pending against him Gharat saidThe present applicant has no respect for the law of India He absconded to various countries He was travelling under fake name and fake passport He was arrested after his real identity was discovered And then he was brought to India in 2015 Gharat saidHe Rajan has 71 cases against him before the CBI1415 cases are still pending He has been convicted and sentenced in 12 cases and awarded life imprisonment in one of these cases he saidJustice Prabhudesai directed the CBI to submit before the HC a copy of the FIR the confessional witness statements in the case and a list of Rajans criminal antecedentsThe HC will continue hearing the plea after two weeksOn July 14 Justice Prabhudesai had admitted for hearing a bunch of pleas and interim applications filed by Rajan seeking bail and challenging convictions in three casesIn two of these cases Rajan whose real name is Rajendra Nikalje was convicted for attempt to murderRajan was sentenced to eight years imprisonment in the case of attempt to murder hotelier BR Shetty in August 2019 He has also challenged a special CBI courts order sentencing him to two years imprisonment in January 2021 in a 2015 extortion caseHe has also appealed against his conviction and sentence of 10 years pronounced by a court in March this year for attempting to kill builder Ajay GosaliyaThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever