A special court, which deals with cases related to the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, on Tuesday reserved its verdict in the 2011 murder of Mumbai journalist Jyotirmoy Dey. The court is likely to pronounce the verdict on May 2, PTI reported, citing Special Public Prosecutor Pradeep Gharat.
Dey, a crime reporter, was shot dead in Powai on June 11, 2011, while he was returning home. Gangster Chhota Rajan is one of the 12 accused in the case. Charges were framed against him in September 2016. Rajan, however, has denied any role in Dey’s murder.
According to a supplementary chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, Dey was killed at the behest of the gangster as he was not happy with the journalist’s articles and planned book, in which he was purportedly portrayed as a “chindi” or small fry. The journalist was about to write a book, titled ‘Chindi rags to riches’, where he wanted tell the stories of 20 gangsters who hailed from humble backgrounds.
Investigators said Rajan believed that Dey was working with the gangster’s arch rival Dawood Ibrahim. He also told an aide that journalist Jigna Vora had told him several times that Dey “is writing wrong things and is in touch with the other gang and was a traitor”. Vora is also and accused in the murder case.
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