Gangster Ravi Pujari was wanted in many cases including extortion and murder in different parts of the country and had been missing for over 15 years.
Bengaluru| The Notorious gangster Ravi Pujari, who is a former aide of Chhota Rajan and had fled after being arrested in West Africa’s Senegal in January 2019, was brought back to India in the early hours of Monday from Senegal.
The gangster, wanted for crimes like murder and extortion, was arrested from Senegal and brought to Bengaluru via France, officials said.
He was wanted in close to 90 cases in Karnataka, in which 25 cases are under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). Over 70 cases of extortion are registered against him in Gujarat.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Senegal had rejected his request challenging his extradition to India.
At the time of his arrest in Senegal, he had a Burkino Faso passport with a false identity of Anthony Fernandes.
The Supreme Court of Senegal had on Wednesday rejected the plea in which Pujari had pleaded that he should not be extradited to India. After the Supreme Court rejected his application, a team of Karnataka Police with the help of South African authorities and Senegal police detained Pujari.
Gangster Raviprakash Sulya Pujari alias Ravi Pujari had been on the run for over 17 years and wanted in over 100 cases across. The 51-year-old has multiples cases of extortion, murder and ransom registered against him.
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Ravi Pujari was mentored by gangster Chhota Rajan, who is currently serving a life sentence in a jail in Navi Mumbai. The two parted ways sometime around 2001.
Pujari, former associate of gangsters Chhota Rajan and Dawood Ibrahim, started his own gang after his split with the duo and targeted businessmen and actors to extract money through his associates.
He will be produced before a court in Bengaluru today, Additional Director-General of Police Amar Kumar Pandey said. “He is physically fit. Questioning will begin from tomorrow (Monday). First, we have to take him to the magistrate. He will be produced before the court tomorrow (Monday). He is supporting our investigation and answering questions,” the officer said on Sunday.
In 2018, activists Umar Khalid, Shehla Rashid and Dalit leader and Gujarat legislator Jignesh Mewani had allegedly received death threats from the gangster.
Ravi Pujari also allegedly used to make extortion demands to Bollywood personalities between 2009 and 2013.
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