Chhota Rajan, 3 others held guilty in fake passport case

A city court on Monday held gangster Chhota Rajan guilty of cheating the government by obtaining a forged Indian passport, crimes which entail a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.

Special Judge Virender Kumar Goyal also convicted three retired public servants –Jayashree Dattatray Rahate, Deepak Natvarlal Shah and Lalitha Lakshmanan –for helping Rajan to obtain a fake passport by "entering into a criminal conspiracy".

Moments after the verdict was announced and the court ordered the police to take them in immediate custody, the three public servants, who were present in the courtroom, broke down. The three of them were so far out on bail.

55-year old Rajan alias Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje, who is currently in judicial custody and lodged in Tihar Jail here, appeared before the court through video-conference due to security reasons. The court will hear arguments on the quantum of sentence on Tuesday.

All the four were convicted of the same offences for which the punishment ranges from seven years to life term.

They were convicted of cheating, using as genuine a forged document, forgery for the purpose of cheating, forgery of valuable security or will, cheating by impersonation and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code and violating relevant provisions of the Passport Act.