Chargesheet filed in J Dey murder case

Six months after the murder of senior crime journalist J Dey, the Mumbai police today filed a chargesheet against 12 accused, including fugitive gangster Chhota Rajan, in the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court here.

The chargesheet, running into 3,055 pages, did not name the recently arrested accused Jigna Vora, Deputy Bureau Chief of The Asian Age. A separate supplementary chargesheet, elaborating Vora's role in the crime, will be filed later, police said.

Dey, working with city-based tabloid Mid Day, was shot dead in suburban Powai on June 11 by assailants, who followed him on motorcycles at the behest of Rajan, who gave Rs 5 lakh to the accused for the murder contract, police said.

Rajan had apparently ordered Dey's killing as the latter had written articles against him. Vora allegedly instigated Rajan to bump off Dey due to professional rivalry and made available to the ganglord licence plate number of the scribe's motorcycle and his address, police added.

So far, 11 accused -- Rohee Thangappan Joseph alias Satish Kalya, Abhijeet Shinde, Arun Dake, Sachin Gaikwad, Anil Waghmode, Nilesh Shendge, Mangesh Agawane, Vinod Asrani, Paulson Joseph, Deepak Sisodia and Vora -- have been arrested in connection with the case.

Two persons--Rajan and his aide Nayan Singh, have been shown as wanted accused.

The Crime Branch had, on September 8, applied stringent provisions of the MCOCA against those arrested.

Satish Kalya, sharp shooter of Rajan gang, had fatally shot Dey, the chargesheet said adding Waghmode had done recce of the parking lot where the slain journalist had parked his bike. Others had accompanied Kalya while Vinod Asrani, cricket bookie, had facilitated the crime.