No request received for deportation of Rajan -- Thai minister

No request received for deportation of Rajan -- Thai minister
Deutsche Presse Agentur

BANGKOK, OCTOBER 9: India has not requested Thailand to deport Mumbai don Chhota Rajan despite accusations by Maharashtra Police that he is travelling on a fake passport, Thai foreign minister Surin Pitsuwan said today.

New Delhi's official stance on Rajan's case, which has been a source of great media attention since the gangster was seriously wounded in a shootout here on September 15, has left the Thai authorities groping in the dark.

``We're still waiting for an official response from Indian Interpol; till then we're not sure what to do,'' said a Thai immigration police officer.

Although a team of three Mumbai-based police personnel has asked Thailand to keep Rajan under detention to facilitate his deportation, New Delhi has been tight-lipped over the case.

Thailand was ready to free Rajan last Thursday but kept him under detention after Mumbai Police officers Shamkar Kamble, Sudhakal Pujali and Hemant Desai arrived here and presented evidence that Rajan was using a false passport bearing the name Vijay Daman.

Sources close to Rajan, however, claim Mumbai Police have no authority to press charges and are presenting false evidence against him. ``The Indian Government has categorically stated that the passport is genuine and valid,'' claimed Rajan's brother-in-law, Rajesh Sharma.

Sharma said Rajan had recently changed his name to Vijay Daman to protect himself from Dawood Ibrahim, who is believed to have been behind the hit ordered on Rajan here last month.

Sharma alleged Mumbai Police were acting on behalf of Dawood. ``They are carrying out political vendetta against him,'' Sharma told DPA.

Last week the Thai authorities ran out of legal excuses for holding Rajan, who is allegedly wanted in Mumbai on various charges, ranging from murder to extortion. They gave New Delhi a deadline to request for his deportation by early Thursday and when no official request was forwarded had declared Rajan free to leave the country.