New Delhi: While the national media continues to speculate over underworld don Chhota Rajan's sudden arrest in Indonesia's Bali, it has now emerged that the fugitive dreaded gangster was also running out of time to save his life from his arch-rival Dawood Ibrahim who had tasked his close shooters to eliminate him.
According to a report published on Wednesday in the Hindustan Times, Pakistan-based underworld don Dawood Ibrahim’s closest aide Chhota Shakeel had vowed to kill Chhota Rajan before this Diwali.
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With Chhota Shakeel and his sharp shooters hot on his trail, probably this could have been the main reason behind Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje alias Chhota Rajan's tamely surrendered to the law in Indonesia on Sunday.
Rajan's falling health - which is believed to be the prime reason for his ‘surrender’- suffers from kidney failure, and has been on the run ever since he split from the Dawood gang after the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts.
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Dawood's lieutenant Shakeel has been pursuing Rajan ever since.
The most recent attempt on Rajan’s life was made by the Dawood gang just about two months ago in Australia where the former had shifted earlier this year.
In a pattern of betrayal that has become the hallmark of the revenge saga, Rajan is believed to have met his old henchman Anil Riteshwar in Australia.
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Interestingly, Riteshwar had played a crucial role in the killing of Sharad Shetty, the D-Company’s third-in-command, in 2003.
Shetty’s killing dealt a major blow to the Dawood gang, as he was the money brains of the group.
“It was natural for Rajan to trust Anil Riteshwar,” a police officer involved in Rajan's arrest was quoted as saying in the report.
Rajan should have known, however, that Riteshwar had stayed in Dubai after Sharad Shetty’s killing, and it could not have been possible without Shakeel’s blessings. The only caution Rajan exercised while meeting Riteshwar was that he did not meet him at the house where he used to live, the officer said further.
