Mumbai, December 08: The name of senior journalist Jigna Vora, the 11th person to be arrested in the sensational J Dey murder case, first surfaced on August 4, 2011, when underworld don Chhota Rajan called a close family friend of Vinod Chembur, said a senior Crime Branch official.
While Chembur is a known Rajan man, his family friend who Rajan called is a real estate agent.
The Crime Branch got a confirmation about Vora’s involvement in the murder on August 18 after they recorded the statement of Vinod’s friend. The real estate agent came in touch with Vinod after his father died in 1988.
His father was close to Chembur, said the official.
The real estate agent used to work as a clerk with Indiana Engineering Works at Sakinaka. In 2000, he joined his father’s business and started selling flats constructed by Vinod’s construction company in Govandi, Deonar and Chembur.
In 2002-2003, Vinod opened up to him and told him about his close relations with Rajan.
Vinod, an alcoholic, was admitted to Joy Hospital in 2006-2007 and went into a coma for a short period.
Rajan knew the real estate agent’s closeness to Vinod and he called him up to inquire about Vinod’s health. The agent spoke to Rajan around five times whenever Vinod was in hospital.
Vinod’s real estate agent friend informed the police that Rajan used to call from a number starting as +3444.
After Vinod was arrested in the Dey murder case, the agent went to see him in the MCOCA court on August 2 and the same day he received a call from Rajan.
The conversation lasted for 30 seconds.
According to the official, Rajan called the agent on August 4.
First he asked about Vinod and then took the name of Vora. Rajan told the agent that a journalist by the name of Jigna Vora was in constant touch with him before the murder of Dey and told him that Dey was writing negative stories about him.
Rajan told the agent that Vora poisoned his mind and sent copies of negative stories Dey wrote against the don, said the official.
“Rajan informed the agent that Jigna sent him the two house addresses of Dey, his office address, his vehicle registration number,” said the official.
On August 6, the agent met Vinod on the MCOCA court and informed him about the conversation he had with Rajan.
Vinod asked his friend not to discuss about his conversation to anybody.
The number on which the agent was receiving calls from Rajan was switched off by the agent to avoid further conversation.
——Agencies