Court acquits two Chhota Rajan gang members in 2005 cable operator murder case | Mumbai news

Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Tuesday acquitted Chhota Rajan’s brother-in-law Jayant Mule and alleged member of the jailed gangster gang Santosh Bhosale in connection with the murder of businessman Sanjay Gupta in 2005. Rajan is also an accused. The special court acquitted the duo on the grounds that the evidence presented by the prosecution was not sufficient to prove the charges against them.

Gupta, a Navi Mumbai-based cable operator, was shot dead at his Nerul office on March 21, 2005, by alleged members of Rajan’s gang. According to the prosecution, the murder took place due to business rivalry between Gupta and Pradeep Madgaonkar. Chhota Rajan’s aide, also known as Bandya Mama, was allegedly trying to take over the former’s business.

According to Gupta’s brother and his wife, Madgaonkar was upset that the deceased had formed a group of cable operators against Chhota Rajan and his associates. They alleged that Madgaonkar, Chhota Rajan and his organized crime syndicate killed Gupta to gain supremacy in the region.

However, the chief witness, who was in Gupta’s office at the time of the shooting, told the court that he was not aware of the death threats given to Gupta and that he could not properly see the three defendants who entered the office. The court observed that the evidence of the chief witness did not support the prosecution’s case.

One of the witnesses, Gupta’s brother, told the court that Mule once came to Gupta’s office and informed him that Rajan was angry with him. He added that the matter was resolved in a phone call between Rajan and Gupta. However, the court ruled that their evidence was not sufficient to prove the case against Mule. The investigating officer, who arrested Bhosale and Mule, stated that the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) was not implemented against the duo.

The court observed that there was no medical evidence linking Gupta’s death to murder. “Considering the evidence on record, it appears that the prosecution has failed to link this accused to the alleged incident beyond reasonable doubt,” special sessions judge AM Patil said.

While acquitting Bhosale, the judge said, “The prosecution examined four witnesses but they did not support the prosecution’s case and therefore the accused is likely to be acquitted.”

In 2021, the CBI had submitted a closure report in the murder case. However, the special CBI court had refused to accept the closure report, observing in a separate hearing that the hostile behavior of the witnesses towards the other accused was not enough to close the case against the accused.

Mumbai police had arrested Shripad Padalkar, also known as Nilesh; Baliram Vaidya, also known as Kolhya; and Rajesh Bhosale in connection with the murder. Santosh Bhosale, also known as Junun during the investigation; Sandesh Kamble, also known as Doctor; Jayant Rajaram Mule; Madgaonkar; Sunil Kadam; Bhagwant Singh Thakur, also known as Bharat Nepali; Kiran Dhokare, also known as Balu; Chhota Rajan and a certain Raju were identified as the wanted accused.