MUMBAI: Fugitive gangster Chhota Rajan (59), arch rival of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim , is reportedly ill with kidney problems, say sources in intelligence agencies here. Police officers tried to confirm the news by asking one of Rajan’s friends in Tilak Nagar to speak to the don. Sources said “things appeared to be normal’’ in Rajan’s den in Tilak Nagar.

Rajan reportedly told the hotelier friend that he would not die before killing Dawood, his sworn enemy since the 1993 blasts. Dawood orchestrated the serial bomb blasts to ‘avenge’ the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1991 and the bloody riots that followed in 1992.

On Tuesday, there were several stories regarding the health of Rajan, whose real name is Rajendra Sadashiv Nikhalje. Rajan— who grew up black-marketing cinema tickets in Chembur—has been admitted to a private hospital in Malaysia . Incidentally, he lost his mother, Laxmibai Nikhalje, two months ago.

Sources said that Rajan has a kidney problem due to the infection caused by the bullets fired by the Dawood gang in 2001. “He did not undergo proper treatment as he fled from hospital for fear of being deported to India by the Bangkok authorities and due to which he has a recurring kidney problem. Rajan’s wife Sujata Nikhalje had recently taken the Bombay high court’s permission to visit Europe where her elder daughter Anita is pursuing higher studies.

Rajan’s aide Abu Sawant, who is also his manager, is taking care of his treatment as most of his men have been killed, either on his own orders or by rival members.

Sawant, a builder, fled India in 2006 after his name cropped up in extortion and money-laundering cases registered by the Mumbai crime branch, in which the police arrested six persons, including Sujata.

The case is pending before the special Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) court and Sawant is a wanted accused.

