Chhota Rajan brought to India; Rijiju says good that CBI is handling don's cases

New Delhi: Underworld don Rajendra Sadashiv Nikhalje alias Chhota Rajan was brought to the national capital on Friday from Indonesia by a joint team headed by CBI officials for facing trial in various criminal cases registered against him in Delhi and Mumbai.

55-year-old Rajan reached here in a special aircraft around 5.30 am at Palam airport and immediately after his arrival, he was escorted out of the airport under heavy security and taken away in an official car accompanied by heavily armed escort vans.

Rajan, the powerful aide-turned-rival of terrorist Dawood Ibrahim, will be kept in the national capital where he will be questioned by sleuths of various investigating agencies as he has been making claims of having further evidence to nail India's most wanted man and his links with Pakistan's snooping agency ISI.

The CBI in a statement announced that Chhota Rajan had been successfully brought back to India on deportation from Indonesia today morning.

"He is in custody of CBI- Interpol. Legal formalities are in process," the statement added.

The 'friendly don', who has been absconding from India for two decades was arrested by Indonesian police on a request of CBI in Bali on October 26, following a tip-off by the Australian Federal Police.

Commenting on Rajan's deportation, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said it was a 'good' move that will surely help in 'cracking' the cases against the don.

However, he remained tight lipped over the impending procedures that will be followed in Rajan's case saying it won't be a 'wise' move.

Rajan is considered to be 'friendly don' as he reportedly tipped Indian security agencies about the movement of Dawood and his aides.

He will be produced before a special CBI magistrate court for facing trial in various criminal cases registered against him in Delhi and Mumbai.

Rajan had told media in Bali that he was happy to return to his motherland and had rubbished reports that his arrest was orchestrated as he was facing threat from Dawood's men.

The gangster began his underworld journey as a black-marketer of movie tickets before embracing murders, extortion, kidnappings, orchestrated his arrest with the help of Indian intelligence agencies.

Chhota Rajan, one of the India's most wanted gangster, was arrested in the tourist town of Bali, Indonesia, on a Red Corner Notice issued by Interpol after eluding law enforcement agencies for over two decades.

The arrest was made on a tip off from the Australian Police that 55-year-old Rajan has flown from Sydney to Bali.