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Gangster Ravi Pujari arrested in 2017 extortion case, taken into custody form Bengaluru j
The case relates to an incident in which two shooters allegedly opened fire outside a builder’s office in Thane after he refused to pay ₹10 crore demanded by Pujari, who was then operating from abroad.
In February 2020, he was extradited from to India and authorised were allowed to try him only in 10 of the 52 cases registered against him initially. (File Photo)
THE THANE crime branch on Wednesday arrested gangster Ravi Pujari (57) in connection with a 2017 extortion case, taking his custody from Bengaluru jail where he is presently lodged.
The case relates to an incident in which two shooters allegedly opened fire outside a builder’s office in Thane after he refused to pay ₹10 crore demanded by Pujari, who was then operating from abroad.
Pujari was deported to India from Senegal in 2020, but authorities were initially permitted to try him in only 10 chargesheeted cases. Subsequently, India sought and obtained approval to prosecute him in nine additional cases, including the Thane extortion case.
“Once we got the approval, we took his custody in this case. Thane police has five other cases in which his custody will be taken as well,” said ACP Vinay Ghorpade from the Thane crime branch.
An officer said the two shooters, Nitin Rai and Dinesh Rai, were arrested soon after the incident. In 2023, another accused was held after returning from the UAE, where he had fled following the firing. Pujari, who was then abroad, had been named a wanted accused in the case.
He was arrested in Dakar, Senegal, in 2019, nearly two years after the incident. Police said he was living under the alias Anthony Fernandes, posing as a businessman, and had relocated his family there under assumed Christian identities.
In February 2020, he was extradited from to India and authorised were allowed to try him only in 10 of the 52 cases registered against him initially.
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In October last year, Indian law enforcement agencies got permission to try him in nine other cases that include this case. He was produced before a special MCOCA court and remanded to police custody till March 27.
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