Gangster Ravi Pujari remanded to Mumbai police custody in hotel firing case

Pujari was extradited to India in February last year but was taken to Karnataka, where he had the most cases registered against him. He has been remanded to police custody till March 9

Underworld gangster Ravi Pujari was remanded to police custody till March 9 by the special court for Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) on Tuesday.

Ravi Pujari being brought to Bengaluru after he was arrested and extradited from Senegal. (File photo)

Pujari was extradited to India in February 2020 but was taken to Karnataka, where he had the most cases registered against him. Last week, a Karnataka court granted permission to the Mumbai Police to take him in custody in a case of firing outside Gajalee hotel on October 22, 2016 in Vile Parle.

In the shooting case, as per the prosecution, a few men of Pujari’s gang fired at the complainant to intimidate the hotel owner. They allegedly gave the owner Pujari’s contact details, threatening to kill him if he didn’t call the gangster.

Pujari was also wanted in 51 cases in Mumbai, including murder, extortion and shootouts over the past 24 years. Out of the 51 cases, Mumbai Police has invoked the provisions of MCOCA in 20.

Pujari has been named in at least 200 cases across the country. He was arrested in Senegal in West Africa in January 2019, where he jumped bail and fled to South Africa. In South Africa, he was allegedly involved in drug trafficking and extortion racket. Sources in Indian Intelligence said he was living there under the assumed identity of Anthony Fernandes, a Burkina Faso passport holder, and was arrested from Dakar, capital of Senegal.