'Chhota Rajan has special relationship with Indian government'

New Delhi, Jan 9: Former Delhi police commissioner Neeraj Kumar has claimed that the Indian government has a special relationship with underworld don Chhota Rajan, who was deported from Bali in November last year. Kumar made the assertion during a session at the Delhi Literature Fest late last evening with journalist Avirook Sen.

"The short answer- yes there is," Kumar said to Sen's question. Kumar reiterated his statement when session moderator Madhu Trehan asked him whether this was a fact or just hearsay.

"If I say it, it is true," he said. The former top Delhi police officer in his tell-all memoir "Dial D for Don" had claimed that he had received a call from Dawood Ibrahim in June 2013. Kumar had written that post the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts, he had telephonic conversations with the fugitive mob boss on three different occasions.

The book, which was released last year, also was in the news for its disclosure that that at one point in the 1990s Dawood wanted to surrender. Responding to a question, Kumar said that all hopes must not be pinned on Chhota Rajan in order to get to Dawood.

"There is hope in a manner of speaking, but let us not pin all our hopes on Chhota Rajan," Kumar said. Chhota Rajan, a former aide of Dawood, is currently lodged in Tihar Jail. The session also saw Kumar sharing some of his recollections from controversial cases over his long career, including the Ansal Plaza shootout and the Mandal Commission protests.

PTI