Mumbai hotelier's murder: Bombay HC suspends Chhota Rajan's life sentence, grants him bail

Chhota Rajan. File Pic

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday suspended the life sentence of gangster Chhota Rajan in connection with the murder of hotelier Jaya Shetty in Mumbai in 2001 and granted him bail in the case, reported news agency PTI.

A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan directed Rajan to furnish a bond of Rs one lakh for the bail in the Mumbai hotelier's murder case, reported PTI.

Chhota Rajan will, however, continue to remain in jail in connection with other criminal cases.

In May this year, a special court convicted Rajan in the Mumbai hotelier's murder case and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

Chhota Rajan filed an appeal in the Bombay High Court against the conviction. He sought that the sentence be suspended and he be granted bail in the interim.

Jaya Shetty, who owned the Golden Crown hotel at Gamdevi in central Mumbai, was shot dead by two alleged members of Rajan's gang on the hotel's first floor on May 4, 2001.

A probe suggested that Shetty had received extortion calls from Hemant Pujari, a member of the Chhota Rajan gang, and was killed because of his failure to pay the money.

Rajan, already serving a life term for the murder of veteran crime reporter J Dey, is currently lodged at the Tihar jail in Delhi.

HC grants bail to dismissed cop Sachin Waze in corruption case involving ex-home minister

Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted bail to dismissed police officer Sachin Waze bail in a corruption case also involving former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh.

A division bench headed by Justice M S Sonak granted bail to Waze and said the conditions for the same shall be set by the special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court.

The dismissed police officer will, however, continue to remain in jail as he is in judicial custody in the 'Antilia' bomb scare case lodged by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Waze, who is presently in judicial custody, had sought to be released on bail claiming that he is an approver in the case, and on the grounds of parity as well as citing that the other accused in the case are out on bail.

Waze's counsel Aabad Ponda had said keeping him in jail even after he was declared as an approver was violation of fundamental rights.

(With inputs from PTI)