Chhota Rajan arrested in Indonesia

Fugitive underworld don Chhota Rajan, one of India’s most wanted criminals and a leading figure in the Mumbai underworld, was arrested at Bali in Indonesia on Sunday. Rajan gained widespread sympathy and public attention after he broke away from Dawood Ibrahim gang, condemning it for carrying out the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai.   The Indonesian authorities are believed to have initiated steps for Rajan’s deportation to India. Confirming the don’s arrest, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh told the media that the Central Bureau of Investigation and other security agencies are in touch with their Indonesian counterparts to expedite Rajan’s deportation. Mr. Singh said the Indian government had been trying to arrest Rajan for a long time and had made a request to Interpol in this regard. "We had issued a notice (through the Interpol)," he said.   “It is a major success. The CBI had been pursuing the matter with the Australian authorities and this led to Rajan’s arrest by the Bali Police,” said CBI spokesperson Devpreet Singh. A senior officer said that it was the CBI which alerted the Australian authorities about Rajan’s presence in their country, and his planned trip to Bali.   Tipped off by the Australian authorities from Canberra, the Indonesian police intercepted Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje alias Chotta Rajan soon after he landed at Denpasar airport in Bali. His arrest was on the basis of an Interpol red-corner notice issued against him way back in 1995 for committing criminal acts such as murder, running an organised crime syndicate, conspiracy etc.   Source: The Hindu