MCOCA gives cops more power to nail J Dey ‘killers’

Eight Chhota Rajan aides arrested in connection with the J Dey murder case were on Friday booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). “Now that the accused have been booked under MCOCA, they can be kept in police custody for a longer period. The stringent provisions of this act will be useful in getting more details about the operations of the gang and secure conviction in the case,” Himanshu Roy, joint commissioner of police, Crime, said.

The eight accused were produced before the special MCOCA court on Friday and have been remanded in police custody till July 11. Seven Rajan shooters — Rohit Thangappan Joseph alias Satish Kalya, Abhijeet Kasharam Shinde, Arun Janardhan Dake, Sachin Suresh Gaikwad, Anil Bhanudas Waghmode, Nilesh Narayan Shendge alias Bablu and Mangesh Damodar Agavne — were arrested by the Crime Branch on June 27. The eighth suspect, Vinod Chembur, was arrested on July 3.

Meanwhile, Umed-ul-Rehman Ishrant Hussain Shaikh, the prime conspirator in Arif Sayed’s murder, and his accomplice were arrested from Goa on Friday. Sayed, driver of Dawood Ibrahim’s brother Iqbal Kaskar, was shot dead in Pakmodia Street on May 17.