Chhota Rajan's voice samples given to CBI, counsel tells court

Underworld don Rajendra S. Nikhalje alias Chhota Rajan's counsel on Thursday told a special MCOCA court here that his voice samples have been provided to the CBI in journalist J. Dey murder case of 2011.

Rajan's lawyer Anshuman Sinha's statement before Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act Special Judge S.S. Adkar came when the don was presented before the court via video-link from New Delhi's Tihar Cenral Jail.

Accordingly, the special court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to file a progress report in the case on March 14, the next date of hearing.

Last month, Rajan consented to give his voice samples for a voice test but later backed out.

CBI prosecutor Bharat Badami had urged that a recording of telephonic conversations allegedly between Rajan and another person had been submitted to the court by the Mumbai police, which the agency wanted to compare with the don's voice.

On January 19, the special court granted permission to the CBI to interrogate Rajan for 10 days beginning January 27.

Dey, a veteran crime reporter and investigations editor of Mumbai tabloid Midday, was shot dead near his home in Powai on June 11, 2011, by four assailants riding motorcycles.

The murder, allegedly committed at Rajan's behest, took place near the D'Mart in the Hiranandani complex, while Dey was riding his two-wheeler.

Rajan was nabbed from the Bali airport in Indonesia on October 25 last year and later deported to India.

Besides the Dey murder case, he is facing 70 other cases. The Maharashtra government subsequently handed over all the cases to the CBI.