32 years on, Chhota Rajan's henchman nabbed by Mumbai Police

NEW DELHI: Mumbai Police have arrested a key associate of notorious gangster Chhota Rajan, who had been absconding for 32 years.

The accused, identified as Raju Vikanya alias Vilas Balram Pawar, was wanted in multiple cases, including murder, kidnapping, and illegal possession of weapons, officials said.

Acting on a tip-off, police apprehended Pawar in the Chembur area of Mumbai on Thursday. "As soon as we received information about his whereabouts, a team was dispatched, and he was arrested," a police officer confirmed.

Pawar has several cases registered against him across various police stations in Mumbai. He is expected to be presented in a sessions court in the city.

Chhota Rajan, a once-feared underworld don, has faced significant legal battles in recent years. In October, the Bombay high court granted him bail in the 2001 Jaya Shetty murder case.

Previously convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in the case, Rajan was granted bail by a divisional bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan, with the bond set at Rs 1 lakh.

In 2023, a special CBI court acquitted Rajan of orchestrating the 1997 murder of trade union leader Dr. Datta Samant, who was gunned down in a high-profile assassination.

Despite these legal victories, Rajan remains in custody, facing trials in several other cases across the country.