Rajan's fake passport: Court summons three passport ex-officials

A court here has issued summons to three retired officials of the passport department in a fake passport case against underworld don Rajendra Sadashiv Nikhalje alias Chhota Rajan, sources said on Friday.

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Judge Vinod Kumar on Wednesday issued summons to three retired passport officers and asked them to appear before it on March 14.

The court has also directed the CBI to supply documents to Chhota Rajan, who was presented before it via video conferencing.

According to the CBI, Rajan had got his first fake passport issued from Bengaluru on January 1, 1998 allegedly in connivance with the then passport officers -- Jay Shree Rahate, Deepak Natvarlal Shah and Lalitha Laxamanan -- in the name of a fictitious person Mohan Kumar.

The central probe agency has booked Rajan and unidentified public servants in a fake passport case on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, cheating by impersonation and forgery of documents under the Indian Penal Code.

Rajan is wanted in over 85 cases, ranging from murder to extortion, smuggling and drug trafficking. He has cases pending against him in Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and with the CBI.

The don, held by Indonesian Police on October 25, was deported to India on November 6. - IANS