A special CBI court in Chennai on Thursday sentenced gangster Chota Rajan to seven years of imprisonment in a fake passport case involving the use of forged documents. The conviction came after a 22-year-long legal process initiated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) over allegations that Rajan obtained an Indian passport by using a false identity.
According to the CBI, the investigation began on March 19, 2002, after the agency registered a First Information Report (FIR) alleging that the accused had applied for and secured a passport by submitting forged documents. The probe focused on claims that the documents were used to deceive the Regional Passport Office in Chennai.
The investigation revealed that Rajan had applied for the passport under the name of Vijaya Kadam by submitting documents such as a school transfer certificate and ration card. The CBI stated that the identity used in the passport application was false and that the individual named Vijaya Kadam was actually Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje, popularly known as Chota Rajan.
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The agency filed its chargesheet against Rajan on January 22, 2004, within two years of beginning the investigation. The case continued through various stages of legal proceedings before the special CBI court delivered the verdict and awarded the seven-year sentence.
A CBI spokesperson said that Chota Rajan is currently lodged in Tihar Jail in New Delhi, where he is already serving a life imprisonment sentence in another case. The agency said the latest conviction was achieved after establishing that forged documents were used to obtain the passport.
The case highlights the lengthy legal process involved in investigating and prosecuting cases related to identity fraud and forged official documents. With the latest judgment, Rajan has received an additional sentence, though he will continue to remain in custody due to his existing life imprisonment term.
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