Mumbai:
The Mumbai Police claim to have cracked the murder case of senior journalist Jyotirmoy Dey. Mr Dey, a senior crime journalist with Mid Day, was shot dead outside a shopping mall in Powai on June 11.
Dey's murder, police say, was a case of contract killing. A Chhota Rajan gang shooter is among 7 people who have been arrested in connection with the case. After several rounds of questioning, the men were remanded to police custody till July 4.
At a press conference, the Mumbai police narrated the sequence of events leading up to the murder of J Dey. "The murder was planned by Rohit Thangappan alias Satish Kalya at the behest of Chhota Rajan. Kalya is a known shooter of Rajan gang and has worked for him earlier too," said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Himanshu Roy.
"While three persons were arrested from Mumbai, three were arrested from Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu and one from Solapur," said Roy.
According to the Mumbai police, Kalya received a call from Chhota Rajan around 20 days before June 11, the day when Dey was shot dead.
"Rajan told Kalya he needs him to do a job and that money and weapons would be provided. Kalya then collected Rs two lakh from Chembur and the murder weapon along with 25 rounds of cartridges from Nainital," Roy said.
Roy further said that Rajan had kept the identity of the target a secret but had given the description of the victim and his bike number a week before the killing.
Mr Dey, known for his investigative reports and books on the underworld, was riding his motorcycle in Mumbai's Powai suburb when the four men on two motorcycles pulled up. They shot five bullets at him. He was taken to a local hospital where he was declared dead upon arrival.