Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje, also known as Chhota Rajan, is an Indian gangster and former right-hand man of notorious Indian criminal Dawood Ibrahim. As of 2021, he is serving a life sentence in Tihar Jail in New Delhi.
Wiki/Biography
Chhota Rajan was born on Tuesday, January 13, 1959 (62 years old in 2021) in Tilaknagar area of Chembur, Mumbai. His zodiac sign is Capricorn. He went to school at Amchi Shala Marathi Secondary School in Mumbai. During his school days, he was a loner and a frontbencher. During his childhood, Rajan had little interest in studies and left school after completing grade 11. He then started doing small jobs to earn a living. As a teenager, he started selling black tickets outside Shankar Cinema in Mumbai.
appearance
Height (approximate): 5′ 6″
Hair color: Black
Eye color: Black
Family and caste
Chhota Rajan belongs to a Maratha table caste family.
Parents and siblings
Chhota Rajan is the son of Sadasiv Sakharam Nikalje (a small labourer) and Laxmibai Sadavshiv Nikalje. His mother died in Mumbai in 2014 at the age of 88. He has three brothers and two sisters, Sunita Chavan and Malini Sakpal. His younger brother Deepak Nikalje is associated with the Republican Party of India.
Chhota Rajan’s sister
Chhota Rajan’s brother Deepak Nikalje
Wife and children
Chhota Rajan’s wife is Nikita Baid. They have three daughters, namely Ankita Nikalje, Nikita Nikalje and Khushi Nikalje.
Chhota Rajan’s wedding photos
Entering the world of crime
When Rajan was a teenager, he started selling black tickets outside the Shankar Cinema in Mumbai. Once, when Rajan was selling black tickets, the Mumbai police bashed him with batons outside the cinema to crack down on black ticket trading. A policeman hit him with a stick, which angered Rajan, who immediately grabbed the stick and started beating him. This was the first time that Rajendra Sadashiv Nihalj had a conflict with the police. Many policemen were injured in the incident. Subsequently, Rajendra was arrested by the police. When Sadashiv was released from jail on bail, many gangster gangs in Mumbai had already targeted him. Soon, he joined the gang of gangster Rajan Nair, aka Bada Rajan, and embarked on the road of crime.
Shankar Cinemas in Mumbai
Criminal career
Rajan initially committed petty crimes in Chembur, Mumbai. After joining hands with Bada Rajan, Rajendra got involved in criminal activities such as smuggling, extortion and drug trafficking. When Rajendra continued to sell movie tickets on the black market, Bada Rajan’s rival Sanjeeva Devadiga (who ran a local liquor shop near Sahakar Cinema and also engaged in black market movie ticket selling) tried to drive him out of the black market. Devadiga’s men reportedly kept a few movie tickets for themselves after selling them on the black market. They often sat among women and teased them during the screenings. This led to conflicts between Bada Rajan’s gang and Devadiga’s gang. Fights occasionally broke out between the boys of the two gangs. During one fight, Chhota Rajan and a group of boys were charged for violating the controversial Maintenance of Internal Security Act (Misa) of 1975. He was arrested and sentenced to two years in jail. After Chhota Rajan came out of jail, he became a hardened criminal.
The rise of Chhota Rajan
According to some sources, in 1982, the Pathan brothers, enemies of Bada Rajan, killed Bada Rajan outside the court with the help of Abdul Kunju. After the killing of Bada Rajan, the gang fell into the hands of Rajendra and soon acquired the name “Chhota Rajan”. Rajan vowed to avenge his gang leader Bada Rajan. After Kunju learned about Chotta Rajan’s motive, he surrendered to the Crime Investigation Department in 1983 to escape Rajan. In April 1984, when the police took Kunju to the hospital for treatment, Rajan started shooting at him. However, Kunju survived. After the incident, Dawood called Rajan and invited him to join his gang (Dawood’s gang), and Rajan agreed. He soon tracked down Kunju and shot him dead at a cricket stadium in Mumbai.
An old photo of Chhota Rajan
Become Dawood’s right-hand man
Dawood was impressed by Chhota Rajan’s bravery and honesty. In 1987, Dawood sent Rajan to Dubai on a mission, which he successfully completed. As a member of the Dawood Group, Rajan had extorted money from builders and wealthy people in Mumbai.
Old photo of Chhota Rajan and Dawood Ibrahim
Slowly, Dawood began to trust Rajan and their friendship grew. Dawood started involving Rajan in every decision he made and Rajan became his right-hand man. Their growing friendship stung Chhota Shakir and he formed a team consisting of Sharad Shetty, Sunil Rawat and Shakir himself. Together, they turned Dawood against Rajan.
Chhota Rajan and Dawood Ibrahim and his gang
Breaking up with Dawood
Rajan and Dawood were considered a deadly duo in the Mumbai underworld between 1984 and 1993. However, their relationship fell apart after the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, when Rajan framed an independent gang that often clashed with Dawood Ibrahim’s D-Company.
Chhota Rajan and Dawood Ibrahim gang
According to reports, the main reason for the breakup was that Dawood’s sister Hasina Parker’s husband Ibrahim Parker was killed by Arun Gowri’s gang. Dawood wanted Rajan to avenge Ibrahim’s death, but Rajan did not listen to his orders seriously and continued to carry out his normal operations. This gave Chhota Shakir an opportunity to replace Rajan. Shakir promised that Dawood would take revenge and successfully completed the operation, which became the reason for Dawood and Rajan’s breakup.
Dawood attempted assassination of Chhota Rajan
After Rajan and Dawood broke up, gang warfare broke out between the two from time to time. In September 2000, while Rajendra was attending a party at a hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, Dawood sent Chhota Shakir to kill him. Before Shakir arrived at the hotel, Chhota Rajan received a call informing him of the assassination. Rajan soon reached the Indian Embassy, where he met an official. A few hours later, he was sent to Kathmandu, from where he went to Malaysia.
New Clippings of Aaj Tak
The failed assassination attempt was a heavy blow to Dawood. In 2001, Rajan had gunned down two of Dawood’s associates, Vinod and Sunil Soanth, in Mumbai. While their deaths had little impact on Dawood, in January 2003, members of Rajan’s gang gunned down Sharad, Dawood Ibrahim’s chief financial manager and money laundering agent, at the Indian Club in Dubai. This was a huge defeat for Dawood as the murder took place in what Dawood considered to be his backyard and the financial and monetary information of the criminal syndicate’s operations managed by Sharad was never fully recovered by Dawood. Soon after, Rajan left Dubai for Australia. After living in Australia for seven years, Chhota Rajan moved to Bali, Indonesia, using a fake passport (with the name Mohan Kumar on it).
Chhota Rajan’s fake passport
Murder of crime journalist Jyotimoy Dey
Chhota Rajan hired a hit man for Rs 5 lakh to try to murder veteran crime reporter Jyotirmoy Dey in Mumbai in June 2011. He reportedly ordered the killing because he was annoyed that a book J Dey was planning to write would portray him as a petty crook.
Jyotilmoy Day
Arrests and convictions
Rajan was arrested in Bali, Indonesia in 2015 after Australian police said he travelled to Bali on a fake Indian passport in the name of Mohan Kumar. He was reportedly going through immigration formalities when authorities asked him to reveal his name. Rajan immediately gave his original name as “Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje” and then changed it to Mohan Kumar. This made authorities suspicious and they conducted an identification procedure.
Bali authorities detain Chhota Rajan
During the process, 11 out of 18 fingerprints matched Rajendra’s identity, confirming him as Chhota Rajan. He was subsequently deported to India on November 6, 2015.
Chhota Rajan arrested in Bali
In India, Rajan was sentenced to seven years in prison by a special CBI court in New Delhi in 2017 for a forged passport case. In 2018, he was convicted in the murder of journalist J. Dey and sentenced to life imprisonment by the MCOCA court in Maharashtra.
Facts/Trivia
- Apart from Chhota Rajan, Rajendra was also known by another name: Nana, a name given to him by Gujarati builders.
- Rajan was often bullied by his classmates during his school days. Once, one of his classmates spilled ink on his shirt and he complained to his teacher. When he was in 8th grade, some of his classmates locked him in the school bathroom.
- Chhota Rajan was inspired by Haji Mastan, Karim Lala and Vardha Bhai to step into the world of crime.
- As of 2021, he faces trial in more than 70 cases of murder, extortion, and drug smuggling.
- In the 1990s, Rajan’s monthly income was reported to be around Rs 80 lakh. He also owned around 122 unnamed hotels and bars in Mumbai.
- The 1999 Bollywood film Vaastav: The Reality was loosely based on Chhota Rajan’s life.
- In 2002, Vivek Oberoi played the role of ‘Chandu’ in the film ‘Company’ which also had similarities with Rajaan’s life.
Vivek Oberoi in the company
- In 2021, Chhota Rajan, who was serving a life sentence in Delhi’s Tihar Jail, was tested positive for COVID-19 on April 22, 2021. He was subsequently admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) due to poor health. Rajan recovered from COVID-19 on May 5, 2021 and was sent back to Tihar Jail. While he was admitted to the hospital, there were rumors that he had died of COVID-19.
Chhota Rajan has been admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi, India
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education