Journalist J Dey’s Murder: Key accused dies before trial begins
Vinod Asrani alias Vinod Chembur, one of the key accused in the June 2011 murder of journalist J Dey, died on Friday of liver and kidney failure. Chembur was allegedly the person who had helped the shooters Satish Kaliya and others identify Dey.
Chembur reportedly knew Dey for a long time. According to the chargesheet, Chembur - on the orders of gangster Chhota Rajan - told Dey to meet him at a Mulund restaurant. Kaliya and his accomplices were present in the restaurant. Chembur had told Kaliya, the chargesheet alleges, that the person whom he would hug during the meeting would be Dey. Chembur hugged Dey, and Kaliya and his men knew their target. They executed the murder in Powai in June 2011. The chargesheet says Rajan and his men had planned to bump off Dey but were finding it difficult to identify him and pinpoint his whereabouts.
Former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan had promised a speedy trial in the case. Crime branch sleuths said that the case should come up for trial by the end of the year.
The chargesheet names seven people as accused in the murder, of whom two including Rajan are absconding.
Rajan suspected that Dey was passing information to rival gangster Chhota Shakeel. Rajan had told a news channel in a telephone interview that another accused in the case, journalist Jigna Vora, had told him that Dey - who was to meet Rajan in London – would help Shakeel kill him (Rajan).
The second absconding accused in the case has been identified as Naeem Singh Bisht, who according to the chargesheet supplied arms and ammunition to the shooters.
There are three people on bail in the case: Vora, Chembur and Paulson Joseph. Chembur had been released on medical grounds as he needed a liver transplant.
The court allowed him to go to London for treatment, but he didn’t go because there was no liver donor available. He had re-applied for permission to travel to Singapore.
Chembur reportedly knew Dey for a long time. According to the chargesheet, Chembur - on the orders of gangster Chhota Rajan - told Dey to meet him at a Mulund restaurant. Kaliya and his accomplices were present in the restaurant. Chembur had told Kaliya, the chargesheet alleges, that the person whom he would hug during the meeting would be Dey. Chembur hugged Dey, and Kaliya and his men knew their target. They executed the murder in Powai in June 2011. The chargesheet says Rajan and his men had planned to bump off Dey but were finding it difficult to identify him and pinpoint his whereabouts.
Former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan had promised a speedy trial in the case. Crime branch sleuths said that the case should come up for trial by the end of the year.
The cops said one reason for the delay was Chembur’s medical condition. Another reason, said a public prosecutor, is that “the court has been handling more than seven high court-expedited cases.”
The chargesheet names seven people as accused in the murder, of whom two including Rajan are absconding.
Rajan suspected that Dey was passing information to rival gangster Chhota Shakeel. Rajan had told a news channel in a telephone interview that another accused in the case, journalist Jigna Vora, had told him that Dey - who was to meet Rajan in London – would help Shakeel kill him (Rajan).
The second absconding accused in the case has been identified as Naeem Singh Bisht, who according to the chargesheet supplied arms and ammunition to the shooters.
There are three people on bail in the case: Vora, Chembur and Paulson Joseph. Chembur had been released on medical grounds as he needed a liver transplant.
The court allowed him to go to London for treatment, but he didn’t go because there was no liver donor available. He had re-applied for permission to travel to Singapore.
