12 April,2017 11:15 AM IST | | Sailee Dhayalkar
A senior television journalist and acquaintance of mid-day investigations editor J Dey told the court on Tuesday that gangster Chhota Rajan, who is alleged to have ordered the hit on Dey in 2011, had during a phone call expressed regret over the killing
Chhota Rajan
A senior television journalist and acquaintance of mid-day investigations editor J Dey told the court on Tuesday that gangster Chhota Rajan, who is alleged to have ordered the hit on Dey in 2011, had during a phone call expressed regret over the killing.
Also read - J Dey murder case: Cop tells court about Rajan's secret phone chat
While deposing in court, the journalist said Rajan called him up November 17, 2011, from a number with the code +444, a day prior to recording his police statement in the Dey murder case. "It was Chhota Rajan on the other side."
No doubt it was Rajan
During his last deposition in court, the journalist claimed to have made Rajan's acquaintance for an interview earlier. "I could identify his voice as I had received a call from him earlier, too. I had listened to his interviews on television and being a crime reporter, I had heard voice samples of Rajan in police records," he told the court on Tuesday.
Also read - J Dey murder case: Journalist denies statement; declared hostile
During the phone call, Rajan allegedly expressed contrition over killing Dey. "He also said he had been misinformed about J Dey, saying 'kissi ne mere kaan bhaare the'," said the journalist.
Growing resentment
During the call, the journalist was apparently told that Dey had asked Rajan for a meeting in London, but the gangster said he never visited the city. Dey then reportedly changed the venue to Philippines, which he was set to visit shortly.
Besides, Rajan allegedly told the journalist that his sources had claimed that Dey had met members of rival underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's D-Company in London. "So, Rajan suspected that Dey was getting close to Dawood," the scribe told the court.
Also read: Former mid-day editor deposes in murder trial
Rajan allegedly felt shortchanged when Dey "credited" gangster and his aide, Santosh Shetty, and former Armyman-turned-don Bharat Nepali for his works.
He, however, expressed regret over ordering the hit, saying, "Journalists are free to write anything. I should have not killed him (Dey)."
The journalist told the court that during a previous phone call, Rajan had claimed that the shooting on Chhota Miya (gangster Chhota Shakeel's aide) and Arif Sayyed (the driver of Dawood's brother Iqbal Kaskar) was done at his behest.
He said after this phone call, he recounted the entire conversation on his personal blog and also gave a copy of it to the police.
Also read: J Dey received phone calls from Chhota Rajan, witness deposes
During the cross-examination by defence lawyer Santosh Despande, the journalist said that his statement recorded by the police doesn't mention him giving them a copy of his blog.
Rajan was arrested by the Indonesian police on October 25, 2015, and deported to India on November 6 the same year. He had cases pending against him in Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and with the CBI. He is currently lodged in Tihar jail.
