Indonesia likely to deport underworld don Chhota Rajan in two days

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Indonesian authorities on Monday gave an assurance to the Indian embassy that gangster Rajendra Nikhalje alias Chhota Rajan, who was caught last week in Bali, would be deported. He is likely to leave for Delhi on Tuesday evening or "latest" by Wednesday morning.

A six-member team of Mumbai and Delhi (special cell) police as well as CBI officials interacted with Rajan in front of Indonesia officials on Monday . Rajan was taken out of the Denpasar lockup to the police headquarters where he spoke to the Indian team for half an hour.

Eyebrows were raised in the establishment when Delhi police was roped in the operation to bring Rajan back. Senior sources in the security establishment told TOI that the Centre was not comfortable in allowing Mumbai police to handle the case. Delhi police, which reports to the Centre, is considered more reliable. Moreover, Rajan has long been an asset for the sleuths in the Indian intelligence agencies against Dawood Ibrahim. Any further blow to him would not only put the "credibility of Indian agencies at stake," but also shake the confidence of its agents and informers globally , the officer said.

The gangster is wanted in more than 75 offences of murder, gangland killings, extortion and drug trafficking in Mumbai. Delhi police have seven cases registered against him and his associates. Five of these cases were registered in one go after the special cell had nabbed Rajan's men, including Farid Tanasha and others in 1999. In 2011, another FIR was registered in Kalkaji when Rajan's close aide O P Singh was arrested in 2001. The seventh FIR was the only one which involved Rajan directly .

Sources said the Indian team made a formal request to Indonesian authorities through the Indian embassy secretary (consular) Sanjeev Agarwal. Officials said Indonesian officials will now seek permission from their court to complete the deportation process. "We hope to get a clearance by Tuesday after noon. We are keeping our fingers crossed that we will be able to leave with Rajan by Tuesday evening or latest by Wednesday morning," said a government official. Delhi police may get to interrogate Rajan "on merit" after he arrives in the Capital.