The Bombay High Court granted bail to gangster Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje, also known as Chhota Rajan in the 2001 Jaya Shetty murder case on Wednesday.
Earlier this year, he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for this crime. The divisional bench, led by Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan, set bail at Rs 1 lakh.
Last year, a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court acquitted Rajan of orchestrating the high-profile murder of renowned Mumbai trade union leader Dr Datta Samant, who was shot dead in 1997.
However, Chhota Rajan is not likely to be released from jail anytime soon, as he is facing trial in several other cases in various cities. The court acquitted him on the grounds of lack of cogent evidence. “In this case, no incriminating evidence has come on record against the accused in respect of conspiracy to commit the murder of Dr Datta Samant,” the court said.
Dr Samant was shot dead by four individuals on Padmavati Road on January 16, 1997, while he was travelling from Powai to Ghatkopar in his jeep. Although three individuals were convicted for the murder in 2000, Rajan was named among the wanted accused in the case. He was arrested in 2015 in Indonesia and brought to Mumbai. All the pending cases against him were then transferred to the CBI.
