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Rajan to sue Thai police for 'abuse of power'

Lawyers for suspected Bombay mafia boss Rajendra Nikhalje aka Chhota Rajan, now detained in Bangkok, plan to file a case against the Thai immigration police for abuse of power, a report said on Sunday.

Citing sources close to Rajan -- who was jailed on Friday on charges of travelling on false documents -- The Nation said he was building a case against the Thai police.

Indian politicians may be flown in for the trial because "a number of Indian politicians are in debt to him, and many are willing to help", the anonymous source reportedly said.

The Rajan saga began when he was badly wounded in a gangland-style shootout in an associate's flat in Bangkok on September 15.

Thai police later made Rajan testify against suspects in the shootout -- three Pakistanis and a Thai -- and to stand trial for giving false information to immigration police several months ago.

Rajan is wanted in connection with several crimes in India, but New Delhi -- which does not have an extradition treaty with Bangkok -- was slow in asking for him to be deported to India.

Last week, Thai authorities ran out of legal excuses for keeping the suspected mafia boss under detention. When they had not heard from India by early Thursday, they declared Rajan free to leave.

But after belatedly receiving information from the Maharashtra police that Rajan was travelling on a fake passport, they slapped new charges against him on Friday.

Rajan's lawyers now feel they have a case for charging the immigration police with keeping him under arrest illegally for one day.

Thai authorities have been puzzled by the Indian government's reluctance to press for Rajan's deportation.

The Nation attributed the confusion to Indian politics, noting that Rajan is wanted for murder and extortion in Maharashtra state, which is controlled by the opposition Congress party.

"The motive of the Maharashtra leaders could well be to humiliate the central government -- by dispatching their police officers to Thailand to make charges against Rajan," the newspaper speculated.

UNI

EARLIER REPORTS:
Rohit Verma's body brought to Bombay
Three Pakistanis, one Thai arrested for attack on Rajan
Chhota Rajan still in Bangkok: Bhujbal
Chhota Rajan survives murderous attack

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