Special court clamps down on Chhota Rajan, 3 others in fake passport case

A special court on 8 June framed charges for alleged offences of cheating, forgery, and criminal conspiracy against gangster Chhota Rajan and three others in a fake passport case.

Special CBI judge Vinod Kumar passed the order after Rajan, produced before the court via video conferencing, pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.

The charges were framed against Rajan for allegedly procuring a fake passport in the name of Mohan Kumar with the help of three government officials, also accused in the case.

The court ordered a trial in the case on a daily basis from 11 July noting that Rajan was in judicial custody for a long period and trial should be started on a day-to-day basis.

Besides Rajan, the court also put on trial three retired public servants -- Jayashree Dattatray Rahate, Deepak Natvarlal Shah, and Lalitha Lakshmanan.

The four accused have been charged with alleged offences under sections 420 (cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 467(forgery of valuable security or will), 419(cheating by impersonation) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and section 12 (offences and penalties) of the Passport Act.

Besides this, the court framed charge against the retired public servants under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

During the proceedings, the court also allowed an application moved on behalf of Rajan to take his specimen signature.

Earlier, during the arguments on framing of charges, the CBI had alleged that the government officials conspired to issue the passport to Rajan in the name of one Mohan Kumar, a non-existent person in complete violation of procedures.

It had told the court that Rajan, who is currently lodged in Tihar Jail under judicial custody, was accused in several cases of heinous nature involving charges of murder and extortion and when in 1995, a Red Corner Notice was issued against him, he had used a new identity to escape.

Rajan had denied the allegation that he used a fictitious identity with the help of fake passport to escape the law.

His counsel had submitted that he has no objection on framing of charge against him as per the allegations in the charge sheet.

--PTI