ePaper Nov 5, 2015

8 SUBCONTINENT/DIASPORA DESI EXPRESS www.desiexpressonline.com Thursday, November 5, 2015 ChhotaRajannabbed,beingextraditedfromIndonesia Mumbai/New Delhi — Long-absconding mafia don Rajendra Nikhalje alias Chhota Rajan will be brought to India from Indo- nesia early on Friday and all cases against him shall now be investigated by the CBI, officials said on Thursday. Maharashtra’s Addi- tional Chief Secretary K.P. Bakshi told media persons in Mumbai that Rajan, who was arrested by Indonesian police on October 26, was escorted amidst tight secu- rity to the Bali airport for a flight to India, which is scheduled to land in New Delhi around 4am on Fri- day. In a surprise develop- ment, he said all cases pending against the mafia don will be transferred to the Central Bureau of In- vestigation (CBI) which will now probe them. “The CBI is the nodal agency and many cases have all-India ramifica- tions. Maharashtra will transfer all cases to the CBI and we shall offer them all help,” Bakshi said. Mumbai Police Com- missioner Ahmad Javed has said Chhota Rajan is wanted in 70-75 cases of murder, kidnappings, ex- tortion, arms running. At an event at the Mum- bai Press Club, Javed said police would prioritize the case of the killing of jour- nalist Jyotirmoy Dey on June 11, 2011, among oth- ers. However, Rajan himself informedTVchannelTimes Now prior to his departure from Bali that he had no hand in Dey’s killing. A special aircraft carry- ing Rajan, a team of CBI officials and others depart- ed around 8pm local time from Bali, Indonesia and is expected to reach New Delhi around 4am on Fri- day. Earlier, he was sched- uled to be brought to India on Tuesday, but the plan was delayed on account of a volcanic eruption which led to closure of the Bali airport and cancellation of all flights. Rajan, 55, also said he was “happy to return to India, which is his mother- land”, and denied he ever demanded not to be taken to Mumbai. The mafia don declined to comment on how he would “help” the Indian government, but reiterated that he would oppose his erstwhile partner in crime, absconder don Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, presently believed to be hiding in Pakistan. Three days ago, Rajan had alleged that Mumbai Police committed atroci- ties on him and that some officials were linked to Da- wood Ibrahim — a charge which was promptly denied by Javed. Rajan and Dawood were close until differences cropped up after the March 12, 1993 Mumbai serial blasts. Rajan slipped out of the country in 1996 and has been on India’s most-want- ed list for the past nearly 20 years till his arrest last month. While absconding, he was targeted in a murder- ous attack in Bangkok, Thailand by Dawood’s henchmen in September 2000, but he managed to escape. Rajan’s arrest is billed as the biggest victory for Indian law enforcers af- ter the nabbing of another mafia don, Abu Salem An- sari, in Portugal in Sep- tember 2002 and later his deportation in November 2005. Meanwhile in Delhi, sources said that Rajan was on Thursday evening de- ported from Bali in a special aircraft carrying a team of six Indian officials, includ- ing two officials of Delhi Police and officials of CBI and Mumbai Police. Rajan was escorted to Bali airport from Denpasar police station in a bullet- proof vehicle. “Considering Chhota Rajan’s earlier demand of deporting him to Delhi in- stead of Mumbai, and due to some other reasons, the Indian government took the decision on Wednesday at a high-level meeting to bring him to Delhi first,” said an official in the CBI on condition of anonym- ity. The official said Rajan would be kept under CBI custody for the first two days and later would either be handed over to Delhi or Mumbai Police on the di- rections of the central gov- ernment. Delhi Police has six cases against Rajan’s al- leged associates, registered at the Rajouri Garden and C.R. Park police stations, sources said. “The Special Cell of Delhi Police has already sought permission from the home ministry to question Rajan,” said a Delhi Police official on condition of an- onymity. “The gangster is wanted in the capital in cases reg- istered between 1999 and 2011. “Most of them are relat- ed to extortion from Delhi businessmen, directly or indirectly on the alleged instructions of the under- world don. Now the cases are being handled by the Special Cell,” the official said. Five alleged shooters of Rajan’s gang were arrested in a raid at a flat in Subhash Nagar near Rajouri Garden in 1999. Rajan slipped out of India in 1996 and has been on the country’s most-wanted list for the past nearly 20 years till his arrest last month Students of Jawahar NavodayaVidyalaya while programming their robot. Gurgaon govt school gets robo-lab By Gajal Gupta Gurgaon — In what is claimed to be a first in the country, a govern- ment school here has been equipped with a robotic lab — with a smart class on the way — to go beyond the routine curriculum and spark the interest of gen- eration next in the Make in India and Skill India initia- tives. “With our Robo Siksha Kendra initiative, we are not only developing robot- ics knowledge but focus- sing on 21st century skills and providing opportunities to access contemporary ed- ucational tools,” said Sud- hanshu Sharma, founder of the India Stem Foundation that has equipped the Jawa- har Navodaya Vidyalaya with the robo lab. A robo-lab enables stu- dents design, operate and apply robots as well as computer systems for their control, sensory feedback, and information process- ing. They cost Rs10-12 lakh and are only now making a beginning in a few private schools. So, how did the Gurgaon school come to be chosen? “The Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas are a unique concept under the ministry of human resource devel- opment specifically to find talented children in rural areas of India and provide them with an education equivalent to the best resi- dential school system. We chose this school as a CSR initiative as it falls in our catchment area,” Sharma explained. Not surprisingly, the lab will make you think you are in an upscale private school but the major difference is that the school doesn’t charge any fees for aca- demics and boarding and lodging. The experience will soon be enhanced with a Smart Class funded by Samsung Electronics. Absconding mafia don Rajendra Sadashiv Nikhalje alias Chhota Rajan, who has been arrested in Indonesia.

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