Verdict in Mumbai journalist J. Dey murder case on May 2

Mumbai, April 3 (IANS) Nearly seven years after journalist Jyotirmoy Dey was gunned down in full public view, a special court her will pronounce the verdict in the case, in which among the accused is mafia don Rajendra S. Nikhalje alias Chhota Rajan - on May 2, the prosecution said on Tuesday.

"The verdict date has been fixed for May 2 by the court," Special Public Prosecutor Pradip Gharat told IANS.

The final arguments in the case which started before Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) Court Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Adkar in February were concluded recently.

Besides Chhota Rajan - currently lodged in the Tihar Central Jail, New Delhi - another accused in the case is former Mumbai journalist Jigna Vora.

According to the investigators, it was Chhota Rajan who ordered the hit on Dey, a veteran crime reporter of Mumbai.

The mafia don was deported from Indonesia's Bali in November 2015 and subsequently made an accused in the case.

The 56-year old Dey, who was the Editor (Investigations) of Midday eveninger, was shot dead on June 11, 2011, near his Powai residence in central suburban Mumbai, sending shockwaves in media circles all over the country.

The investigations into the case were initially conducted by the local police but as the case ramifications became deeper, it was taken over by the Crime Branch.

There was a sensational twist in the case when the police arrested Vora, the then deputy bureau chief of The Asian Age, Mumbai, in connection with the case on November 25 (2011) that year, besides 10 other accused.

Another accused (the 11th), named Vinod Asrani, alias Vinod Chembur, who was charged as the main co-conspirator and financer of the entire operation, died due to natural causes in April 2015 at a private hospital. He had also "pointed out" Dey to the gunmen at the scene of the crime that morning.

In June 2015, the Special MCOCA ourt framed charges against the remaining 10 arrested-accused, including Vora.

After Chhota Rajan's arrest, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the Dey murder probe and added him as an accused in a supplementary charge-sheet filed before the court.

During the probe, it also emerged that Vora was allegedly in regular contact with Chhota Rajan.

Three motorcycles and a jeep were used to execute the Rs 500,000 contract killing for which Rs 200,000 was paid as advance and the balance to be paid later.

Gharat said that three of the accused have recorded their confessional statements pertaining to their roles in the crime and a total of 155 witnesses were examined during the trial.

"Chhota Rajan's deposition was recorded via video-conference from Tihar Central Jail. He is not likely to be brought here for the verdict," he added.

Dey had authored two books: "Khallas: An A to Z Guide to the Underworld", and "Zero Dial: The Dangerous World of Informers", and was penning his third book, "Chindi: Rags to Riches".

In the upcoming book, he had reportedly portrayed the mafia don as 'Chindi' (petty), which apparently irked Chhota Rajan.

The 11 accused are Rohit Thangappan Joseph alias Satish Kalya, 28, Abhijeet Kasharam Shinde, 27, Arun Janardhan Dake, 27, Sachin Suresh Gaikwad, 35, Anil Bhanudas Waghmode, 35, Nilesh Narayan Shendge alias Bablu, 34, Mangesh Damodar Agawane, 25 (all who conducted recce and/or were shooters), Jigna Vora, who made nearly three dozen calls to Chhota Rajan prior to the murder, Deepak Sisodia, 28, of Dehradun, the weapon supplier, Joseph Paulson, 43, who provided the mobile SIM cards, and Vinod Chembur (deceased) who was the co-conspirator and financer of the operation.