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The Mumbai Police Crime Branch on Sunday arrested a cricket bookie and close aide of gangster Chhota Rajan, Vinod G Asrani alias Vinod Chemburkar, for his alleged role in the killing of journalist J Dey.
Police sources said Asrani is suspected to have helped identify Dey, and may have played a role in financing the attack too. This is the eighth arrest in the case so far. “We have arrested Vinod Asrani, and he has been produced before a court and remanded to police custody till July 7. I can only reveal that he was a part of the conspiracy hatched to murder Dey,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Himanshu Roy.
Requesting anonymity, an officer said Asrani was “instrumental in identifying Dey as a target”. He said investigations had revealed that Asrani met the seven accused, who were arrested earlier, a few days before the murder.
“He is a close Rajan aide who has been involved in money laundering for the gang for a long time. It is possible that he was the one who also arranged the money that was paid to the shooter and the other six accused,” he said.
Asrani, who was picked up from the Rajan gang’s stronghold in Chembur, is known to be a trusted and long-time aide of the gangster. He is a known cricket bookie in the police records, and was arrested in July 1997 for running a cricket betting racket in Chembur.
Police sources said Asrani is suspected to have helped identify Dey, and may have played a role in financing the attack too. This is the eighth arrest in the case so far. “We have arrested Vinod Asrani, and he has been produced before a court and remanded to police custody till July 7. I can only reveal that he was a part of the conspiracy hatched to murder Dey,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Himanshu Roy.
Requesting anonymity, an officer said Asrani was “instrumental in identifying Dey as a target”. He said investigations had revealed that Asrani met the seven accused, who were arrested earlier, a few days before the murder.
“He is a close Rajan aide who has been involved in money laundering for the gang for a long time. It is possible that he was the one who also arranged the money that was paid to the shooter and the other six accused,” he said.
Asrani, who was picked up from the Rajan gang’s stronghold in Chembur, is known to be a trusted and long-time aide of the gangster. He is a known cricket bookie in the police records, and was arrested in July 1997 for running a cricket betting racket in Chembur.
