India lost 'golden opportunity' to nab Dawood through Rajan's arrest: Y P Singh

Former IPS officer rues lack of coordination between state and central agencies, and inability to use Rajan's network to reach the Don

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Former IPS officer and lawyer Y P Singh on Tuesday said that poor coordination between central and state intelligence agencies had led to the arrest of gangster Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje alias Chhota Rajan in Bali and as a result, the country has lost an opportunity to reach the latter's former partner in crime Dawood Ibrahim.

"This lack of coordination between the state intelligence agencies and the central agencies has perhaps led to his (Chhota Rajan) arrest. Now, we have certainly lost a golden opportunity to use a particular gangster and his network to reach upto the global terrorist that is Dawood Ibrahim. It is time for us to relook the functioning of central agencies and the state agencies," Singh told ANI here.

'The arrest of Chhota Rajan clearly shows the lack of coordination between the state intelligence agencies and the central agencies. It is a known fact that earlier also the central agencies which had tried to use the people of Chhota Rajan to go upto Dawood, state agencies had disrupted them on the pretext that they have cases against the people of Chhota Rajan and they have been apprehended at the moment. That lack of coordination has continued in this case," Singh added.

"Therefore, when Chhota Rajan was used by the central agencies to reach upto Dawood Ibrahim, it was the state agencies started pursuing Chhota Rajan on the ground that there was certain cases registered against him and was wanted for trial of those cases," he added.

Underworld don Chhota Rajan, one of India's most wanted criminals and a leading figure in the Mumbai underworld, was arrested at Bali in Indonesia on Sunday.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had told the media that the Central Bureau of Investigation and other security agencies are in touch with their Indonesian counterparts to expedite Rajan's deportation,

Rajan is wanted for at least 68 cases in Mumbai alone, including over 20 murder cases and other serious offences under MCOCA, POTA and the Arms Act.