Daijiworld Media Network

Mumbai, Jun 28: The Mumbai police appear to be groping in the dark about the actual purpose behind the killing of journalist Jyotirmoy Dey, although they say it was a contract killing. While saying that Chhota Rajan had ordered his henchmen to kill Dey by paying them five lac rupees, and that the killers did not know that Dey was a journalist till a day after the murder, the policemen do not have any clue why this gruesome murder plan was hatched.

Those who have worked with Dey assume that the journalist was killed because of his knowledge of the underworld functioning and his inside stories about their activities. The police however, have broadly hinted that the sojourns of Dey to foreign destinations had something to do with the murder plan. The journalist fraternity from the metro has been demanding in chorus, for laying bare the identity of the persons who got Dey killed through Chhota Rajan, and why they did so.

Himanshu Roy, joint commissioner (crime) of Mumbai police, says that the police do have a vague idea about the motive of the assassins of Dey, although they are yet to cull out details, hold investigations, and be doubly sure about the same, before making it public.

The police say that those hired by Chhota Rajan for the murder had studied the movements of the journalist by stalking him and watching where he stayed and what were his routines. As per the police version, Rohit Thangappan alias Satish Kalia, sharp shooter of the gang, fired at Dey with a .32 bore revolver, but Rohit and other members of the gang were not informed that Dey was a journalist. Once they came to know that they had hunted a journalist, as per the instructions of Chhota Rajan, they fanned out to pilgrimage centres in various states. Ultimately, they were arrested from Rameshwaram, Solapur and Mumbai.

The accused, who have been remanded to police custody till July 4, will be tried under Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act, it is learnt.

One hopes that the police will be able to uncover the identity of the persons who had availed of the services of Chhota Rajan gang to eliminate Jyotirmoy Dey, and what enmity they had been harbouring against this fearless journalist.