New Delhi, 23 February: Ravi Pujari, a notorious underworld don who has been absconding for the last 15 years, has been arrested in Senegal, West Africa on the information of Indian agencies. Indian agencies are presently in Senegal and a team of officers is bringing Ravi Pujari to India. He can be brought to India by late night.
Ravi Pujari is accused of being involved in several cases related to extortion, murder, blackmail and fraud. There are cases of him demanding ransom from many Bollywood stars.
A Red Corner notice has been issued against him for directly and indirectly being involved in around 200 cases registered in different places in the country. Last month, the Karnataka police arrested Akash Shetty, a close aide of Ravi Pujari.
Chhota Rajan’s henchmen
Ravi Pujari stepped into the world of crime as a henchman of Chhota Rajan. Pujari lived in Andheri, Mumbai and there he came close to gangster Chhota Rajan along with other notorious criminals.
Soon, Pujari along with Vijay Shetty and Santosh Shetty also joined Chhota Rajan’s gang. After this, he carried out several incidents one after the other and plagued the security agencies.
Last year, when he was arrested after a case registered in Senegal, he took bail and then absconded. Recently the Indian authorities tracked the priest to a village in South Africa. There are 98 cases pending against Ravi Pujari in Mumbai and Karnataka. In June last year, Gujarat MLA and Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani filed a police complaint that underworld don Ravi Pujari threatened to kill him.
Who is Ravi Pujari
52-year-old Ravi Pujari was born in Malpe, Mangaluru in Karnataka. He is proficient in English, Hindi and Kannada languages. He was forced out of school due to frequent classroom failures. He is survived by his wife, 2 daughters and a son. The 28-year-old son has recently been married in Australia.
According to security agencies, Ravi Pujari holds an Australian passport. He frequently travels to China, Hong Kong and West Africa. Interpol issued a Red Corner notice against both the priest and his wife Padma. His wife was arrested in 2005 in a fake passport case. The wife was accused of making fake passports for herself and daughters. After getting bail in Mangaluru, she once again escaped from India with a fake passport with daughters.
