One of India’s most notorious gangsters, Chhota Rajan, was on Thursday sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment by a special CBI court in Chennai for fraudulently obtaining an Indian passport using forged documents and a fake identity. The conviction comes after a 22-year legal battle.
According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Rajan secured the passport by assuming the identity of “Vijaya Kadam” and submitting fabricated documents, including a school transfer certificate and a ration card.
“The convict, Chhota Rajan, is presently lodged in Tihar Jail, New Delhi, where he is already undergoing rigorous imprisonment for life,” a CBI spokesperson said.
Passport Obtained Using Forged Identity
The CBI registered an FIR in the case on March
19, 2002, alleging that Rajan had cheated the Regional Passport Office in Chennai by applying for and obtaining an Indian passport using forged documents.
Following its investigation, the agency filed a chargesheet against him on January 22, 2004.
“The investigation revealed that the accused, Chhota Rajan, applied for an Indian passport in the name of Vijaya Kadam by submitting false documents. It was also found that the real name of Vijaya Kadam was Rajendra alias Nana alias Chhota Rajan, son of Sadashiv, a resident of Mumbai,” the CBI spokesperson said.
The agency said it secured Rajan’s conviction after a prolonged legal battle spanning more than two decades.
Already Serving Multiple Life Sentences
Rajan is currently lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail, where he is already serving life imprisonment in multiple criminal cases.
In September 2025, the Supreme Court set aside a Bombay High Court order that had suspended his life sentence in the 2001 murder of Mumbai hotelier Jaya Shetty and restored the punishment awarded by the trial court.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta allowed the CBI’s appeal, observing that Rajan had multiple criminal convictions and had remained absconding for 27 years. During the hearing, the court remarked, “Four convictions and absconded for 27 years… why suspension of sentence to such a man?”
Convicted In Multiple Organised Crime Cases
Rajan was convicted in the Jaya Shetty murder case by a special MCOCA court in May 2024. According to the prosecution, Shetty, who owned several restaurants in Mumbai, was shot dead in 2001 after refusing to comply with extortion demands from Rajan’s syndicate.
He is also serving a life sentence in the 2011 murder of journalist Jyotirmoy Dey and has been convicted in several other organised crime cases.
According to the prosecution, Rajan has been convicted in seven of the 71 criminal cases registered against him, while several others remain pending.
