Expressing satisfaction over the conviction of gangster Chhota Rajan for killing senior investigative journalist Jyotirmoy Dey in 2011, former CBI Director Anil Sinha today said criminals cannot escape the law forever.
Sinha, who headed the CBI when Rajan was brought from Indonesia, said it was the hardwork of the officers involved in the operation and subsequent investigation that bore fruits.
"No matter what criminals may think but law always catches them. You will see Vijay Mallya too will be brought back to face the law," he told PTI.
A special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act court today handed life imprisonment to Rajan and eight others for killing Dey near his residence in Mumbai seven years ago.
A CBI spokesperson said that an important aspect of the conviction was the forensic evidence gathered by the agency using call records.
The agency used expertise of CFSL to conclusively prove that the voice in the tapped conversation was of Rajan and his cronies, he said.
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Judge Sameer Adkar, however, acquitted former journalist Jigna Vora, who was charged with instigating Rajan to carry out the killing. He also acquitted Paulson Joseph, who was accused of handling the funds to execute the conspiracy.
Rajan, who was witnessing proceedings from New Delhi's Tihar jail via video conferencing, said "theek hai(alright)", when the judge read out the sentence and asked the gangster if he wanted to say anything.
This is the first major conviction for Rajan since he was deported to India following his arrest at Bali airport in Indonesia in 2015. Last year, Rajan was convicted by a court in Delhi and sentenced to seven years imprisonment in fake passports case.