A Special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court, on Wednesday, sentenced dreaded gangster Chhota Rajan and eight others to life imprisonment. They have been convicted for the murder of senior journalist Jyotirmoy Dey.
The accused were convicted of murder and criminal conspiracy. The court also acquitted former journalist Jigna Vora and Joseph Paulson in the case due to lack of evidence.
The verdict was pronounced by Special MCOCA Court Judge Sameer Adkar, after several hours of arguments between special public prosecutor Pradip Gharat and the defence lawyers on the quantum of punishment after nine of the accused were held guilty this morning.
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The other convicted include Rohit Thangappan alias Satish Kalia, Anil Waghmode, Abhijit Shinde, Nilesh Shedge, Arun Dhake, Mangesh Agawane, Sachin Gaikwad, Deepak Sisodia and Vinod Asrani, who died during the trial, according to media reports.
Gharat argued that there should not be any leniency shown on them as the attack on a journalist was an attack on the fourth pillar of democracy.
The veteran crime journalist was shot dead in suburban Powai on June 11, 2011 while he was on his way home.
The CBI court framed charges against Chhota Rajan in the case in 2016.
According to a supplementary charge sheet by the CBI, Rajan had Dey killed because he was miffed with some articles written by him, and also because a planned book of his portrayed Rajan as a 'chindi' (petty) criminal.
Chhota Rajan was arrested at Bali airport in Indonesia on October 25, 2015, and was deported to India.
According to the prosecution, Vora was accused of instigating Chhota Rajan against Dey and Paulson was charged with procuring two global SIM cards and handing them over to another accused Satish Kaliya along with Rs 2 lakh to carry out the killing.
(With agency inputs)