Mumbai: A special court in Mumbai on Thursday sentenced gangster Chhota Rajan to life imprisonment in the 2001 murder of hotelier Jaya Shetty here.



Special judge AM Patil for cases under the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) convicted Rajan under provisions of the Indian Penal Code for murder.



Jaya Shetty was the owner of the Golden Crown Hotel in Gamdevi, central Mumbai.

Shetty was shot dead by two alleged members of the Rajan gang on the first floor of the hotel on 4 May 2001.

The detailed order of the court is not available yet.



The police had registered a case of murder on the basis of the complaint of the hot manager.



Investigation of the case indicated that Shetty had received extortion calls from Chhota Rajan gang member Heman Pujari and was murdered due to non-payment of money.



Since several cases have been registered against Rajan for related crimes like extortion, charges under the stringent MCOCA were also added against him and other accused in the hotelier's murder case.



In two previous separate trials, three other accused in the murder case were convicted, and one was acquitted due to lack of evidence.



Rajan, already serving life imprisonment for the murder of journalist J Dey in 2011, is currently lodged in Delhi's Tihar Jail.