Mumbai: A special CBI court on Friday acquitted gangster Rajendra Nikhalje alias Chhota Rajan and four others, including Pune builder Surendrakumar Agarwal, of all charges related to the 2009 attempted murder of Shiv Sena leader Ajay Bhosale. Rajan (70), who was granted bail in the case last year, will remain in jail as he is serving a life sentence for the 2011 murder of journalist J Dey.The detailed judgment is yet to be made available.The special judge acquitted Rajan, Surendrakumar, Mohammad Khan, Vijay Tambat and Rajesh Yadav for offences punishable under Sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, alongside Sections 25 and 27 of the Indian Arms Act.The 2009 case was among the 71 cases transferred to CBI after Rajan was deported from Bali in 2015. He was produced via videoconferencing from Tihar jail, where he has been lodged for security reasons.The case was first registered at Pune’s Bund Garden police station and later investigated by the state CID.It was the prosecution’s case that there was a property-share dispute between Pune residents Surendrakumar, R K Agrawal and V K Agrawal. It was alleged that Surendrakumar sought help from Tambat, an alleged Rajan henchman. It was further submitted that Rajan allegedly threatened R K Agrawal by phone.On May 1, 2009, three to four associates of Rajan allegedly threatened R K Agrawal at Residency Club to give Surendrakumar his share. Bhosale, a witness, also allegedly received over 50 calls from Rajan between March and May 2009 to persuade R K Agrawal to settle. Believing Bhosale was obstructing a resolution, Rajan allegedly plotted to kill him. On Oct 11, 2009, two men allegedly linked with Rajan fired at Bhosale’s car in Pune. Bhosale escaped unharmed, but his driver was injured.The prosecution had argued that Rajan was the head of an “organised crime syndicate” and was punished in various cases. “He was an absconder hiding outside India for more than 20 years and was taken into custody in Indonesia…,” it had submitted.Rajan’s counsel had counter-argued there was no evidence linking him to the attempted killing. Four of the accused, including Rajan, had earlier got bail. Only Khan was in custody.
