J Dey murder case: Chhota Rajan expressed regret over killing, says scribe

Chhota RajanA senior television journalist and acquaintance of midday investigations editor J Dey told the court on Tuesday that gangster Chhota Rajan who is alleged to have ordered the hit on Dey in 2011 had during a phone call expressed regret over the killingAlso read J Dey murder case Cop tells court about Rajans secret phone chatWhile deposing in court the journalist said Rajan called him up November 17 2011 from a number with the code 444 a day prior to recording his police statement in the Dey murder case It was Chhota Rajan on the other sideNo doubt it was RajanDuring his last deposition in court the journalist claimed to have made Rajans acquaintance for an interview earlier I could identify his voice as I had received a call from him earlier too I had listened to his interviews on television and being a crime reporter I had heard voice samples of Rajan in police records he told the court on TuesdayAlso read J Dey murder case Journalist denies statement declared hostileDuring the phone call Rajan allegedly expressed contrition over killing Dey He also said he had been misinformed about J Dey saying kissi ne mere kaan bhaare the said the journalistGrowing resentmentDuring the call the journalist was apparently told that Dey had asked Rajan for a meeting in London but the gangster said he never visited the city Dey then reportedly changed the venue to Philippines which he was set to visit shortlyBesides Rajan allegedly told the journalist that his sources had claimed that Dey had met members of rival underworld don Dawood Ibrahims DCompany in London So Rajan suspected that Dey was getting close to Dawood the scribe told the courtAlso read Former midday editor deposes in murder trialRajan allegedly felt shortchanged when Dey credited gangster and his aide Santosh Shetty and former Armymanturneddon Bharat Nepali for his worksHe however expressed regret over ordering the hit saying Journalists are free to write anything I should have not killed him DeyThe journalist told the court that during a previous phone call Rajan had claimed that the shooting on Chhota Miya gangster Chhota Shakeels aide and Arif Sayyed the driver of Dawoods brother Iqbal Kaskar was done at his behestHe said after this phone call he recounted the entire conversation on his personal blog and also gave a copy of it to the policeAlso read J Dey received phone calls from Chhota Rajan witness deposesDuring the crossexamination by defence lawyer Santosh Despande the journalist said that his statement recorded by the police doesnt mention him giving them a copy of his blogRajan was arrested by the Indonesian police on October 25 2015 and deported to India on November 6 the same year He had cases pending against him in Maharashtra Delhi Uttar Pradesh Gujarat and with the CBI He is currently lodged in Tihar jail