J Dey trial starts again; defence cross-examines two witnesses

The witnesses examined include architect Suhas Joshi who prepared the sketch of the spot and society where Dey was killed, and constable Bapusaheb Pawar who took the injured journalist to hospital.

A sessions court on Friday restarted the trial in the murder of journalist J Dey, who was shot dead allegedly by gangster Chhota Rajan’s henchmen in Powai on June 11, 2011. The defence cross examined two witnesses in the case. The trial was stayed after Rajan’s arrest last year.

Dey was shot dead when he was on his way home on his motorcycle.

Read: Charges framed against Chhota Rajan in J Dey murder case

The witnesses examined include architect Suhas Joshi who prepared the sketch of the spot and society where Dey was killed, and constable Bapusaheb Pawar who took the injured journalist to hospital.

Earlier before Rajan’s arrests, six witnesses has been examined by the prosecution. The gangster has asked for cross examination of four witnesses.

Dey was shot dead when he was on his way home on his motorcycle. The Mumbai crime branch which investigated the case had booked 11 people, including journalist Jigna Vora. Vinod Asrani, one of the accused, passed away recently and the case is underway against the remaining 10. According to crime branch, the conspiracy to kill Dey was hatched at the behest of Rajan.

Read: ‘Rajan learnt about books from J Dey’s leaked emails to publisher’

Dey, a veteran crime reporter, had planned a book, titled ‘Chindi-Rags to Riches’, wherein he was going to write the stories of 20 gangsters with humble origins. “Dey was going to expose the fake patriotic mask used by him (Rajan) to secure himself and to accumulate wealth for his family. The book was to have that Rajan had no concern for those who made him big,” a chargesheet had read, which was filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on August 5.

After his arrest in Indonesia, Rajan was deported to New Delhi in November, 2015. The Maharashtra government has transferred all the cases against Rajan to the CBI. The J Dey murder is one of the prominent cases against the gangster.