Chhota Rajan Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography, Facts & More

Bio/Wiki
Real Name	Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje
Nickname(s)	Nana, Chhota Rajan
Profession	Gangster
Famous For	Being the right hand of Dawood Ibrahim
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 165 cm in meters- 1.65 m in feet inches- 5’ 5”
Weight (approx.)	in kilograms- 70 kg in pounds- 154 lbs
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Black
Personal Life
Date of Birth	Not Known
Age	Not Known
Birthplace	Chembur, Mumbai
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Chembur, Mumbai
Religion	Hinduism
Caste	Scheduled Caste (SC)
Address	Building No. 6, Tilak Nagar, Chembur, East Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Food Habit	Non-Vegetarian
Controversies	• On 25 April 2017, a special CBI Court in New Delhi, awarded him seven years rigorous imprisonment in the fake passport case. • On 2 May 2018, the Maharashtra MCOCA Court found him guilty of the murder of journalist J. Dey.
Girls, Affairs and More
Marital Status	Married
Affairs/Girlfriends	Sujata
Family
Wife/Spouse	Sujata Nikalje
Children	Son- None Daughters- Khushi Nikalje, Ankita Nikalje, Nikita Nikalje
Parents	Father- Name Not Known (a peon at the Municipal Corporation) Mother- Name Not Known
Siblings	Brother- Deepak Nikalje (younger, associated with Republican Party of India) Sisters- Names Not Known (reside in Tilak Nagar, Chembur, Mumbai)
Money Factor
Net Worth	Not Known

Some Lesser Known Facts About Chhota Rajan

He was born into a Scheduled Caste family in Chembur, an Aagri neighbourhood in East Mumbai.

In the 1980s, he used to sell movie tickets in black at a local cinema hall named Sahakar Cinema. His mentor, Bada Rajan, introduced him to black marketing of movie tickets.

It all started with a rivalry between Bada Rajan and a man called Sanjeeva Devadiga who ran a country-made liquor shop near the Sahakar Cinema.

Devadiga was into the black-marketing business. According to sources, Devadiga’s men used to keep few movie tickets for themselves, after selling them in black and would sit in the midst of a group of women and harass them during the shows. Locals from Tilak Nagar opposed this and this led a friction between Bada Rajan and Devadiga.

Occasional fights between the boys of Bada Rajan and Devadiga were a new normal in the area. During one such clash, Chhota Rajan, along with other boys, was booked under the controversial Maintenance of Internal Security Act (Misa) in 1975.

After remaining in jail for two years, Chhota Rajan came back as a hardened criminal.

Bada Rajan’s another rival, Abdul Kunju, hired a shooter named Chandrashekar Safalika to kill Bada Rajan, and in 1983, Bada Rajan was shot dead by Safalika.

After the murder of Bada Rajan, Chhota Rajan was rattled and it was during this period that he enhanced his criminal activity.

Chhota Rajan saw the rise of Haji Mastan, Karim Lala, and Vardha Bhai and got inspired to join the world of crime.

In the mid-1980s, he became a contract-killer and carved a niche for himself in Mumbai’s criminal world, and from here onwards, people would call him- Chhota Rajan.

Besides, Chhota Rajan, he is also known as “Nana,” a name given by the Gujarati Builders.

For a short while, he worked with Arun Gawli and Dawood Ibrahim. At that time, Dawood had fled to Dubai.

In the late eighties, a rivalry ensued between the Arun Gawli – Dawood gang, which ultimately took the form of a gang war.

In 1989, Rajan also escaped to Dubai and eventually rose to become the right hand of Dawood Ibrahim.

Chhota Rajan tied the knot with his neighbour, Sujata, who lived in Building No. 5 in Tilak Nagar, while Rajan lived in Building No. 6 in the same area.

According to sources, the prime reason behind the rift between Chhota Rajan and Dawood was the murder of Ibrahim Parkar (husband of Dawood’s sister Haseena Parkar) by the Arun Gawli gang. Dawood wanted Rajan to take the revenge of Ibrahim’s murder; however, Rajan didn’t pay much heed and carried on his normal business. This, along with Chhota Shakeel and Sunil Sawant’s jealousy with Chhota Rajan, who often used to complain Dawood about Rajan’s activities, led a split between Rajan and Dawood.

After the split, Chhota Rajan formed his own gang, and since then, occasional gang wars between the two have been common.

In September 2000, Dawood tracked Chhota Rajan in a hotel in Bangkok and appointed Chhota Shakeel to kill him. A team led by Chhota Shakeel raided the hotel. Posing as a Pizza delivery man, Chhota Shakeel gunned down Rajan’s aide Rohit Varma and his wife. However, Rajan successfully escaped through the hotel’s roof and fire-escape.

Estranged Rajan shot dead two of Dawood’s associates, Vinod and Sunil Soans, in Mumbai in 2001.

On 19 January 2003, at the India Club in Dubai, Chhota Rajan also killed Sharad, Dawood’s chief finance manager, and money-laundering agent. It was a big blow to Dawood, as it was Sharad who had commanded his finances.

Soon, he left Dubai, and after residing in Australia for seven years, Chhota Rajan visited Bali in Indonesia on a passport with the name of Mohan Kumar.

For deporting him back to India, Indian authorities contacted Interpol, and on 25 October 2015, Rajan was captured in Bali, Indonesia.

On 6 November 2015, Chhota Rajan was extradited to India. Thereafter, he was lodged in Tihar Jail, awaiting trial in more than 70 cases.

Sanjay Dutt starrer film Vaastav: The Reality (1999), is said to be loosely based on Chhota Rajan’s life.

The character of “Chandu” played by Vivek Oberoi in the 2002 Bollywood film, Company, had also some resemblance with Chhota Rajan’s life.