Lucknow Press
Mumbai. The Bombay High Court on Wednesday suspended the life sentence of gangster Chhota Rajan in connection with the murder of hotelier Jaya Shetty in Mumbai in 2001 and granted him bail in the same case. A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan directed Chhota Rajan to furnish a bond of ₹ 1 lakh for bail. However, Chhota Rajan will remain in jail in connection with other criminal cases.
In May, a special court convicted Chhota Rajan in the murder case of the hotelier and sentenced him to life imprisonment. Rajan had filed an appeal in the Bombay High Court against the sentence. The gangster had demanded that the sentence be suspended and interim bail be granted.
Who was Jaya Shetty?
Jaya Shetty, owner of the Golden Crown Hotel in Gamdevi in central Mumbai, was shot dead by two alleged members of gangster Chhota Rajan’s gang on the first floor of the hotel on May 4, 2001.
Investigation has revealed that Jaya Shetty had received extortion calls from Hemant Pujari, a member of Chhota Rajan’s gang, and was killed when she was unable to pay the money. Rajan, who is serving life imprisonment for the murder of veteran crime reporter J Dey, is currently lodged in Delhi’s Tihar jail.
