Mumbai, Dec 9: Journalist Jigna Vora and a member of Chhota Rajan gang, Paulson Joseph, arrested in connection with the murder of senior scribe Jyotirmoy Dey, were remanded in judicial custody till December 20 by a Special Court here today.
Prosecutor Dilip Shah told the court that the Crime Branch was not pressing for police custody of the duo as they were not required for custodial interrogation any further. Accordingly, the designated court under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) sent them to jail.
In a related development, Crime Branch filed an application seeking custody of another accused Satish Kalya in a 2005 arms case. As the court allowed its plea, the accused would be produced before a Magistrate in South Mumbai.
Kalya, allegedly a sharp shooter of the Rajan gang, is currently in judicial custody in the Dey murder case.
Vora, Deputy Chief of Bureau of ‘Asian Age', was arrested on November 25 under MCOCA on charges of providing key information like supplying licence plate number of the motorcycle and address of the slain journalist to Rajan.
Joseph was arrested earlier and remanded from time to time in police and judicial custody. After the arrest of Vora, Crime Branch sought police custody for Joseph to confront him with the former. As this exercise is over, he is now remanded again to judicial custody.
Dey, working with city-based tabloid ‘Mid Day', was shot dead allegedly on the orders of Rajan, who allegedly gave Rs 5 lakh to the accused for the contract killing that took place in suburban Powai on June 11.
Police, on December 3, had filed chargesheet against arrested accused—Rohee Thangappan Joseph alias Satish Kalya, Abhijeet Shinde, Arun Dake, Sachin Gaikwad, Anil Waghmode, Nilesh Shendge, Mangesh Agawane, Vinod Asrani, Paulson Joseph and Deepak Sisodia.
Police have alleged Rajan was upset with two articles written by Dey which portrayed him in bad light and hence by murdering the journalist, he wanted to send a message to the media that those who write against him would be targeted. Jigna had instigated the overseas-based underworld to kill Dey due to professional rivalry, according to the 3,055-page chargesheet.
A supplementary charge sheet would be filed at a later date against Vora, the eleventh arrested accused in the case, police have said.
