Bail plea of Chhota Rajan's wife deferred till June 23

MUMBAI: A special court on Monday deferred till June 23 the bail plea of Sujata Nikalje, wife of underworld don Chhota Rajan, held under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) on the charge of extorting money from city builders.

Sujata's bail petition was adjourned as Judge Abhay Thipsay was preoccupied with other cases.

The court had earlier directed the prosecution to hand over transcripts of telephonic talks between underworld don Chhota Rajan and Sujata.

The prosecution opposed the bail of Sujata saying that they had recorded telephonic talks between Rajan and other accused which showed that they helped the underworld don in extorting money from builders.

Nikalje was arrested under MCOCA on December 14 last year. Police alleged that she had targeted builders in Ghatkopar-Chembur areas of north-east Mumbai and had allegedly accepted Rs five lakh from a builder.

The accused has challenged her arrest under MCOCA and said she was wrongly booked under this stringent Act.

Nikalje said she had been in custody since last December and had a three-year child to look after. Hence, she should be granted bail. She said there was no evidence against her under MCOCA and that she was not member of any crime syndicate.

Earlier, a special court had rejected the bail plea of Nikalje. Being aggrieved, she has filed a fresh bail plea.