Chhota Rajan: Six things to know about the gangster

New Delhi: Fugitive Chhota Rajan, wanted over a series of murders in India, has been arrested in Indonesia after decades on the run. Here are a few facts about him which you would like to know:

1. Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje, better known as Chhota Rajan, was a black marketeer at Sahakar Cinema at Chembur.  His family belongs to a village in Satara.
2. Studied till Class V,  Rajan joined a gang led by Jagdish Sharma. It was in 1979 Rajan gained fame when he attacked and injured five cops with their own lathi during crackdown on black marketeers.

1. Chhota Rajan joined Bada Rajan’s gang  and took over the reins of the group after the latter’s murder. Chhota Rajan’s months-long quest to kill the murderer of Bada Rajan caught the attention of Dawood Ibrahim. Impressed by Chhota Rajan’s determination, Dawood Ibrahim invited the Bada Rajan’s successor to join his gang.
2. Dawood Ibrahim and Rajan split after the former orchestrated a series of bomb blasts in Mumbai in 1993. Their enmity has continued since then.
3. After the split, Rajan formed his own gang. Reports of bloody shootouts between Rajan and Dawood's gangs have been common since the split.
4. Wanted for a series of murders in India, Rajan was finally arrested on October 26 as he arrived in the popular resort island of Bali from Sydney.