HC refuses to grant bail, suspend sentence of Chhota Rajan aide convicted in journalist murder case

The court, in its order, noted that it was established that Dey died a homicidal death after suffering a firearm injury.

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has refused to grant bail to an aide of gangster Chhota Rajan convicted in the 2011 killing of journalist Jyotirmoy Dey and to suspend the sentence of life imprisonment handed to him.

A division bench of Justices N W Sambre and N R Borkar on November 6 dismissed the petition filed by Satish Kalya seeking bail and suspension of his sentence, noting that he does not deserve to be released on bail by suspending the sentence.

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The court, in its order, noted that it was established that Dey died a homicidal death after suffering a firearm injury.

“The fact remains that at the behest of the applicant (Kalya), there is recovery of the weapon which was used in the commission of the offence. The weapon was also proved to be used in the offence,” the court said.

The bench noted that even if Kalya has undergone a long period in jail, the court “needs to be sensitive to the earlier convictions of the accused persons”.

“The applicant/accused (Kalya) is part of an underworld gang and in a calculated manner, executed the offence in question at the behest of syndicate head Chhota Rajan, who is presently lodged in Tihar jail,” it said.

A special court convicted Kalya, Chhota Rajan and six others in May 2018 for Dey’s murder and sentenced them to life imprisonment.

All the convicted accused have filed appeals in the high court challenging their conviction.

According to the prosecution, Dey was killed at the behest of Rajan, as he found certain articles written by the journalist offensive. On June 11, 2011, Dey was shot dead by two persons on a motorcycle in the Powai area of central Mumbai.

Kalya, who was the pillion rider, had allegedly opened fire at Dey.

Kalya’s counsel Shirish Gupte argued that he was arrested in the case in 2011 and has been in custody since then, while his appeal filed against the conviction has been pending since 2018 and is not likely to be heard in the near future.

He further claimed that Kalya was convicted based on circumstantial evidence and in the absence of direct evidence, he deserves to be released on bail as he has already suffered a long incarceration.