Bombay High Court Grants Bail to Chhota Rajan in 2001 Murder Case

The Bombay High Court granted bail to gangster Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje, also known as Chhota Rajan, in the 2001 murder case of hotelier Jaya Shetty. The bail was granted on October 23, 2024, with conditions set at Rs 1 lakh. Earlier this year, Rajan had been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for Shetty’s murder. Despite securing bail in this case, he is not expected to be released soon due to his involvement in several other ongoing cases across various cities.

Jaya Shetty, owner of the Golden Crown Hotel in Central Mumbai, was killed on May 4, 2001, allegedly over a failed extortion attempt by Rajan’s gang. The investigation revealed that Shetty had been targeted after refusing to pay a Rs 50 crore ransom demand made by the gang. Three other accused in the case, Ajay Mohite, Pramod Dhonde, and Rahul Pawasare, were convicted in 2013 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

In a separate ruling, the Bombay High Court had acquitted Chhota Rajan last year in the 1997 murder of Mumbai trade union leader Dr. Datta Samant, citing insufficient evidence. Dr. Samant was gunned down while traveling in his jeep, and Rajan was initially considered a prime suspect.

Rajan, who was once an associate of Dawood Ibrahim, severed ties with him after the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts. Arrested in Indonesia in 2015, he has been imprisoned in Delhi’s Tihar Jail ever since, facing multiple charges, including the murder of journalist J. Dey.