Security agencies have decided to bring arrested Indian gangster Chhota Rajan to Delhi and keep him in the custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for initial period before any other police force is allowed to take him for their respective investigations.
Sources said it has been decided that Rajan will not be taken directly to Mumbai from Indonesia, where he was arrested last week.
Security arrangements are being beefed up at the agency headquarters where Rajan is likely to be kept with regular security drills being carried out to identify any possible loophole in the security apparatus.
The decision to bring Rajan to Delhi was taken during meetings of various stakeholders including CBI, central security agencies and Delhi and Mumbai Police.
A meeting of senior officials of Delhi Police Special Cell and CBI was held on Tuesday too. During the one-hour meeting, various aspects related to transport and security of Rajan were discussed.
The agency is waiting for the first available window to bring back Rajan. Ash cloud arising of volcano eruptions near Bali has halted flight operations from there. As soon as the flight operations start, the team will move out with him.
The gangster, who was arrested in Bali on his arrival from Australia on October 25, is wanted in over 75 heinous crimes ranging from murder, extortion to smuggling and drug trafficking.
Rajan, whose original name is Rajendra Sadashiv Nikhalje, was arrested the basis of a Red Corner Notice from Interpol and following a tip-off by Australian authorities to the police in Indonesia.
In the absence of an extradition treaty, Indian authorities have already provided documents to their Indonesian counterparts about his Indian identity to facilitate his deportation.
In 2000, there was an attempt on Rajan’s life when his arch rival and India’s most wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim’s men tracked him down to a hotel in Bangkok but he managed a dramatic escape.