Picked up in snatching case, Rajan aide confesses to murder

MUMBAI: An alleged Chhota Rajan associate, Dinesh Palekar (42), was arrested on Friday for murdering three people in Panvel in 2000. Palekar has been living in Bhandup and has assumed a new identity with a fake name, Vijay Naik.
In 2000, Naik and his associates killed Vinod Shetty, Shankar Iyer, and Mohammad Shakil on New Panvel Road at the behest of fugitive gangster Chhota Rajan.Following an attack on him at his Bangkok flat in September 2000 by Dawood’s men posing as pizza delivery man, Rajan had been suspecting Shetty of having helped trace his location the police said. So, Rajan had ordered his men to kill Shetty and his aides, police added.
Senior inspector Dattatray Bhargude said, “We were probing a chain-snatching case and picked Naik for questioning. During interrogation, he confessed to his previous crimes including the murders.”
Palekar has been remanded in police custody for three days. “We are inquiring if he had committed any more crimes in our area,” said assistant commissioner Shivajirao Kolekar.