Mumbai: Chhota Rajan acquitted in murder of film producer Kadawala

Photo for representational purpose. Picture Courtesy/iStock

A Mcoca court has acquitted gangster Chhota Rajan and one Jagnnath Jaiswal in the murder of film producer Hanif Kadawala. An accused in the 1993 blasts case, Kadawala was shot dead in his Bandra office in 2001. He was out on bail at the time. The police had arrested four people in connection with the shooting and said the killers were Rajan's men. The four got acquitted in 2004.

After Rajan's extradition to India from Indonesia in 2015, all cases registered against him by Mumbai police got transferred to the CBI. The CBI arrested Jaiswal in 2017 and filed a supplementary charge sheet the same year.

An employee of Kadawala had identified Jaiswal. However, there were inconsistencies in his testimonies. "The witness said when the bullet was fired, he saw it but told court he was near the reception, so did not know what happened inside the cabin," Jaiswal's advocate Devanand Manerkar, told mid-day.

CBI Special Public Prosecutor Pradeep Gharat said there was no strong evidence against Rajan.