Rajendra Nikhalje alias Chhota Rajan had a meteoric rise in the Mumbai underworld from ticket touting to heading his own gang.
Born on December 5, 1959, Rajan started his career in crime under the patronage of Rajan Nair alias "Bada Rajan" in the area of Tilak Nagar in Central Suburbs of Mumbai.
Things changed for Rajan in 1982 when Bada Rajan was murdered by his rival Abdul Kunju outside Esplanade court in Mumbai. Shattered with the broad daylight murder of his mentor, Rajan swore revenge and vowed to eliminate Kunju.
Rajan along with his two associates shot Kunju from point blank range while he was playing cricket. The brazen manner in which Rajan murdered Kunju in broad daylight got him many supporters and admirers in the underworld. But out of all another notorious underworld gang leader "Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar" proved to be the most important ally for Rajan.
In 1984, when the Mumbai police came down heavily on Dawood forcing him to flee from the country, Dawood handed over the Mumbai operations to his then most trusted lieutenant — Rajan.
Rajan in an attempt to grown in the ranks and files of D Company, expanded Company's operations to Nepal and Sri Lanka. However, with his growing stature in Mumbai underworld, police went all guns blazing against Rajan forcing him to flee from India and join Dawood in Dubai.
Soon, relationship between Rajan and Dawood started to sour with the latter's henchman Subhas Thakur eliminating three of Rajan's best men. However, the final nail in the coffin of their association came post 1993 Mumbai serial blast.
Parting ways with Dawood, Rajan left Dubai and positioned himself as 'Patriotic Don' and formed his own gang. The sepration of Dawood and Rajan marked as the bloodiest era of Mumbai underworld with blood spilling on the roads. In order to attain control and supremacy in Mumbai, both the gangs targeted members from rival gangs, killing more than 100 people.
The rivalry reached a new height when in 2000 when Dawood's men carried out a daring attack on Rajan's life in a hotel room in Bangkok. Rajan, though injured, managed to escape from the hospital and evade arrest with the help of his aides Bharat Nepali, Santosh Shetty, Abu Sawant and Bunty Pandey.
Recently, it is believed that Rajan over the period of time became an informant for Indian Intelligence agencies helping them with information about Dawood and his activities. Rajan is booked for various offences like murder, attempt to murder, grievous hurt, Arms Act, conspiracy, common intention, possession, use of illegal fire arms and organised crime syndicate.
