A Shiv Sena MLA, who is a prosecution witness in the journalist Jyotirmoy alias 'J' Dey murder case of 2011, was declared hostile after he denied receiving a call from one of the accused as contended by the CBI before a special Mumbai court today.
"MLA Sunil Raut appeared before the court today (as a prosecution witness). However, he was declared hostile as he did not support the case of prosecution," special public prosecutor Pradeep Gharat told PTI.
Citing the CBI, Gharat said Raut had received and attended a call from an international calling card number on his phone, but in court he denied taking that call.
According to the CBI, the call was made by Paulson Joseph, one of the accused in the case, he said.
"This is the same number that gangster Chhota Rajan (the prime accused in the murder case) used to get in touch with journalists after the murder (of Dey)," the special public prosecutor said.
However, the exact date and time of the purported call are not known.
Raut is a sitting legislator from Vikhroli in Mumbai.
Dey, working with an English tabloid here, was shot dead in suburban Powai on June 11, 2011. The court on August 31 last year had framed charges against Rajan.
According to a supplementary charge sheet filed by the CBI, Rajan had the veteran crime reporter killed because he was miffed with some articles written by him, and also because a book being written by Dey portrayed him as a 'chindi' (petty) criminal.
The book, "Chindi--Rags to Riches", was to be about 20 gangsters who rose from humble origins.
Rajan was arrested at Bali airport in Indonesia on October 25, 2015, and deported to India.
The first charge sheet filed in the case in 2011 named Satish Kaliya, Abhijeet Shinde, Arun Dake, Sachin Gaikwad, Anil Waghmode, Nilesh Shendge, Mangesh Agawane, Vinod Asrani, Paulson Joseph and Deepak Sisodia (all arrested) as accused.
A charge sheet was filed against Mumbai-based journalist Jigna Vora for allegedly instigating Rajan against Dey owing to her professional rivalry with the scribe.
The 55-year old gangster, once a close aide of fugitive terrorist Dawood Ibrahim, was brought to India to face trial in over 70 cases of killing, extortion and drug smuggling in Delhi and Mumbai.
He was recently convicted in a fake passport case by a special court in Delhi.
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