CBI officials to meet Mumbai top cop on Rajan cases

The officials of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrived at city police headquarters to meet Police Commissioner Ahmed Javed today, a day after Maharashtra government decided to hand over all cases against underworld don Chhota Rajan to the central agency.

The CBI officials, who arrived at the police headquarters at Crawford Market, are also likely to meet their senior counterparts from police to discuss the nitty-gritty concerning the documents of cases and other material related to the don, which are in possession of the local police, sources said.

"The city police will hand over all the concerned documents, materials, evidences gathered against Rajan in all the cases to the CBI," a police official said.

A crime branch official said that since the state government has transfered all the cases against the 55-year-old don to CBI, the city police will have no role in investigating him.

However, local police have to assist CBI if the agency asks them to, given the complicated nature of cases, some of them dating back to 1980s, since they are well-versed in topography of the city and Rajan's crime network, another official said.

In an intriguing development ahead of Rajan's return last night, the state government announced that all the cases against Rajan, who was deported from Indonesia, were being transferred to the CBI because of its expertise in "handling transnational crimes".

Mumbai Police has nearly 70 cases registered against Rajan, including 20 of murder, four cases under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, one under Prevention of Terrorism Act and over 20 cases under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.

After being on the run for the past 27 years, underworld don Chhota Rajan was deported to New Delhi early today from Indonesia by a joint team headed by CBI officials for facing trial in over 70 cases of murder, extortion and drug smuggling against him in Delhi and Mumbai.