Indian gangster sentenced to life in prison

MUMBAI: An Indian court on Wednesday sentenced notorious gangster Chhota Rajan and eight others to life in prison for murdering a journalist in a drive-by shooting in Mumbai seven years ago.

Jyotirmoy Dey, a crime reporter who specialised on gangland activities for the Mid-day tabloid, was shot dead in broad daylight on June 11, 2011. Prosecutors said Rajan had ordered the hit because he was unhappy about negative articles that Dey had written about him.

A special court in India’s financial capital Mumbai found Rajan guilty of ordering the contract killing of the 56-year-old. The underworld don, who was appearing by video link from a New Delhi jail where he is being held, simply said "theek hai" ("OK") after Judge Sameer Adkar read out his verdict.

The court also convicted eight henchmen, including four shooters. They and Rajan, who is in his late 50s, were later sentenced to life imprisonment. Prosecutor Pradeep Gharat had called for a life term, saying Dey represented "the fourth pillar of democracy".

"The punishment must act as a deterrent," he told the courtroom. Reporters in the world’s largest democracy often face harassment and intimidation by police, politicians, bureaucrats and criminal gangs.