AEC to approach Singapore govt to probe gangster Kumar Pillai in 4th case

Pillai was extradited in 2016 to face trial in three cases, two registered in 2009 and one in 2013. He was tried in all three and acquitted of all charges

MUMBAI: A sessions court last week issued a non-bailable warrant against alleged gangster Kumar Pillai, enabling the crime branch’s Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) to seek permission from the Singapore government to investigate him in a fourth murder case. Pillai was earlier acquitted in all three cases for which he was extradited from Singapore in 2016.

AEC to approach Singapore govt to probe gangster Kumar Pillai in 4th case

Additional sessions judge RB Rote, on January 19, allowed the AEC’s plea for an open-ended non-bailable warrant. Special public prosecutor Sunil Gonsalves told the court that the warrant was required to move a formal proposal to Singapore authorities to arrest Pillai in connection with a 2007 murder case registered at the Vikhroli police station and to probe his alleged role in planning the crime.

Pillai was extradited in 2016 to face trial in three cases, two registered in 2009 and one in 2013. He was tried in all three and acquitted of all charges.

The AEC told the court that while reviewing its records, it found that Pillai, a textile engineer by training, was also named as an accused in the 2007 Vikhroli murder case. According to the charge sheet, Anil Ramsevak Pandey, Amit Madhukar Bhogle and Silvaraj Vellutambi Pillai allegedly carried out the murder in collusion with Pillai and three others.

The police said the accused had allegedly shot dead Sunil Magade and attempted to kill his friend Shashank Ahire, who was with him at the time. In September 2017, a sessions court acquitted Pandey, Bhogle and Silvaraj, but noted that Kumar Pillai was still shown as a wanted accused in the case.

“The police wanted to arrest the accused and conduct further investigation against him. Therefore, considering the facts and circumstances of the case, it is necessary to issue a warrant of arrest against accused Kumar Krushna Pillai,” the court added.

On March 20, 2024, a special court under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA) acquitted Pillai in the third case for which he was extradited. The police had alleged that in 2009, Pillai’s gang member Bhaskar Pujari and others entered developer Ramesh Shah’s office in Vikhroli to extort money and fired two shots at him, after which Shah narrowly escaped unhurt. Pillai was acquitted in the two other extradition cases in 2020 and in 2022.