On October 23, the Bombay High Court granted bail to gangster Chhota Rajan, suspending his life sentence for the 2001 murder of hotelier Jaya Shetty. Previously, on May 30, 2024, a special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court in Mumbai had sentenced Rajan to life imprisonment.
A division bench comprising Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan ordered Rajan to provide a bond of ₹one lakh for his bail. He had appealed to the Bombay High Court against his conviction, seeking a suspension of the sentence and interim bail.
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Who was Jaya Shetty and what was the case about?
Jaya Shetty, owner of the Golden Crown hotel in Gamdevi, central Mumbai, was shot dead by two alleged members of Rajan’s gang on May 4, 2001. Investigations revealed that Shetty had been receiving extortion calls from gang member Hemant Pujari and was murdered after failing to meet the payment demands.
Will Chhota Rajan be released from jail after bail?
While Rajan has been granted bail in the Shetty murder case, he will remain incarcerated due to other criminal charges. He is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of veteran crime reporter J Dey and is held at Tihar Jail in Delhi.
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(With inputs from agencies)
