At the time of J Dey's murder, Jigna Vora was the Deputy Chief of Bureau of The Asian Age .
In a ruling by a Mumbai court today, former journalist Jigna Vora has been acquitted in the
J Dey murder case for lack of evidence while
gangster Chhota Rajan has been convicted.Jigna Vora was among the two prime accused in crime reporter
J Dey's murder case along with gangster Chhota Rajan. She was accused of instigating the gangster to murder J Dey. The police had suspected that her professional rivalry with J Dey could have led her to get involved in the sensational killing that took place in 2011.
Jigna Vora, who was the Deputy Chief of Bureau of The Asian Age at the time of J Dey's murder, was arrested in November 2011. She was jailed under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) on charges of supplying licence plate number of the motorcycle and address of J Dey to Chhota Rajan.
Crime branch sources had said that Jigna Vora had spoken to Chhota Rajan over phone quite a few times before the crime.
In 2012, she was chargesheeted as the eleventh accused in the J Dey murder case. Charges were leveled at her under various sections of IPC including murder, criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence, besides stringent provisions of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) and the Arms Act.
Later in 2012, Jigna Vora was granted bail by a special court saying that she was a single parent and had no previous criminal record.
Nearly seven years after the case, Jigna Vora has been acquitted in the journalist J Dey murder case. Chhota Rajan was convicted in the case. The police said Chhota Rajan had ordered the killing, irked by his portrayal as a small-time crook in a book the journalist was planning to write.
Journalist J Dey, who was known for his investigative pieces, was gunned down by four bike-borne assailants in broad daylight near his residence in Mumbai's Powai on June 11, 2011.