Chhota Rajan
| Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje | |
|---|---|
Chotta Rajan
|
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| Born | Ashti, Beed, Maharashtra |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation | Smuggler, mobster |
| Criminal status | Arrested in 2015 |
| Spouse(s) | Sujata Nikalje |
| Children | Khushi Nikalje, Ankita Nikalje, Nikita Nikalje |
Chhota Rajan (Junior Rajan) is the boss of a major crime syndicate based in India.
While living in Tilak nagar, a huge colony for the low income group near Chembur, Mumbai, Rajan started out as a petty black marketeer of cinema tickets at Sahkar Cinema. After being released from jail for assaulting police constables, he joined the Bada Rajan gang in 1982. After Bada Rajan was shot dead, Chhota Rajan took over the gang and worked for Dawood Ibrahim who had fled to Dubai.
During the Arun Gawli - Dawood gang war in the late eighties, Rajan escaped to Dubai in 1989 and eventually rose to be the right hand of Dawood Ibrahim before splitting with him in 1993 and forming an independent gang that frequently clashed with Dawood's D-Company.
He is wanted for many criminal cases that include extortion, murder, smuggling, drug trafficking and film finance.
He is also wanted in 17 murder cases and several more attempted murders. It is said that Rajan finances a social organization called "Sahyadri Krida Mandal" that organizes the Ganesh Utsav in Tilaknagar, which has been Rajan's home base. Rajan's wife and two daughters continue to live in Tilaknagar.
Chhota Rajan was arrested in Bali by Indonesian police on 25 October 2015. He was extradited to India on 6 November after 27 years on the run and is currently awaiting trial in CBI custody.
Rajan was born in a lower middle class family Marathi Buddhist family in the Tilaknagar area of Chembur, Mumbai, Maharashtra.He worked as a cinema ticket seller in his early days.. He started his criminal career by scalping cinema tickets at Sahakar cinema in the 1980s.
Then he met mentor Bada Rajan and Yadagiri of Hyderabad under whom he learned the tricks of the trade. Once Bada Rajan was killed, Nikalje received the throne and the title—Chhota Rajan. For a short period, Dawood Ibrahim, Rajan and Arun Gawli worked together. Then Gawli's elder brother Papa Gawli was assassinated over a drug deal and a rift formed. Rajan went to Dubai—his family is still here apart from his wife in 1989 to attend the wedding of Noora, Dawood's brother. He never returned. After the 1993 Bombay bombings, Dawood and Rajan fell out. There were even reports that he tipped off the Research and Analysis Wing about Dawood's network. The Dawood-Rajan party was over, the messy end coming in September 2000, with Shakeel's attack on Rajan in his Bangkok hotel room.
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Wikipedia