The rise and fall and arrest of Chhota Rajan

Kin and wellwishers of Chhota Rajan, known as Nana, had prayed for his safety and health in the recently concluded Ganesh festival at his erstwhile bastion  Tilaknagar in Chembur. As TV channels started showing flashes of his arrest at Bali, Indonesia, his wife and three daughters and supporters made frantic calls for confirmation. When they heard news bites from officials confirming the arrest, they quickly sent out a message to keep cool and not react publicly. The police also strengthened security in the locality.

Born into a Marathi family in this city, Rajan Nikalaje grew up in the lower middle class locality of Tilaknagar. He began by selling film tickets in the black market at the local Sahakar Cinema. He subsequently joined Rajan Nair, also known as Bada Rajan, and reportedly engaged in small robberies and bootlegging. He learnt the tricks from Bada Rajan and became a confidante.  

After Bada Rajan was killed, Chhota Rajan took the reins, also coming into contact with leading dons Dawood Ibrahim and Arun Gawli. The trio worked together, say police. However, the murder of Gawli's brother created a rift and they parted ways. Rajan’s association with Dawood continued when the gang war in the city was at its peak during the 1980s. He is  still wanted in a number of charges relating to extortion, murder, smuggling, drug trafficking and film finance. There are 17 cases of murder and a large number of attempted murder charges.

He shifted to Dubai in 1988 and apparently worked in  association with Dawood. After the March 1993 serial bombing in Mumbai, the latter’s handiwork, Rajan clarified he was not party to this. He separated from Dawood in 1996 and started working independently, from various countries. Rivalry between the two has since grown and both carried out murders of the other's gang members, in and outside India.

They are also said to have targeted each other on several occasions.  Rajan came into the limelight when he allegedly killed Dawood's close aide, Sharad Shetty, in Dubai in 2003. Shetty was reportedly Dawood's money laundering agent.

Again, in June 2011, Rajan hogged the headlines after the Mumbai police arrested seven persons, including two shooters from his gang, in connection with the murder of city journalist J Dey. Rajan had kept the identity of the target a secret, say police, but had given a description of the victim and his motorcycle number a week before the killing.

Police sources hint that a tip from Dawood might have led to Rajan’s arrest. So, the rivalry between the two might further increase in the days to come.