MUMBAI/NEW DELHI, March 23: Gangster Prasad Pujari, accused of being involved in several serious crimes including murder, extortion and kidnapping, was brought back to India after his deportation from China in the early hours of Saturday, and was then placed under arrest by Mumbai police, an official said.
Pujari alias Subhash Vitthal Pujari alias Siddharth Shetty alias Siddhu alias Sidh alias Johny is a former member of gangs led by mobsters Kumar Pillai and Chhota Rajan.
He was staying in China having an Interpol Red Notice against him, and was arrested there last year. After that, Mumbai police’s Crime Branch continuously tried to bring him back to the country, the official said.
The CBI got issued a Red Notice against him from the Interpol on February 14, 2012 and also provided coordination assistance to Mumbai Police and Ministry of External Affairs in return to India from China, CBI Spokesperson said in a statement on Saturday.
A Red Notice alerts all Interpol member countries about an absconding accused who should be detained when spotted in their jurisdiction.
Pujari is allegedly involved in eight serious cases in Mumbai, including firing, extortion and murder. A resident of Tagore Nagar in Vikhroli, he had fled from the country some years ago. He had allegedly targeted builders and businessmen in eastern Mumbai, the crime branch official said.
Pujari’s name came up in the case of firing on Shiv Sena worker Chandrakant Jadhav, who lived in the Vikhroli area, in December 2019. He was apprehended by authorities in Hong Kong in February 2023.
“Following a tip-off by the Interpol, Pujari was arrested in March last year in Hong Kong on the charges of possessing a fake passport. He was held when he was preparing to board a flight from Hong Kong to Shenzhen (city in China). Pujari, who is married to a Chinese national, was residing in Shenzhen with his wife and a child at the time of his arrest,” the official added.
In 2020, the crime branch had arrested Pujari’s mother, Indira Vitthal Pujari, for her alleged involvement in the case of extortion of a builder from Vikhroli. She was arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) for allegedly extorting Rs 10 lakh from a developer, the official said.
Pujari used to extort money from businessmen and known people using international numbers as well and gave death threats to some of the leading film directors, producers and Bollywood actors. His gang is very active in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai localities, he added.
After being deported from China, he was brought to India shortly around 1 am on Saturday. He was then placed under arrest by the Mumbai police in one of the cases registered against him at the Vikhroli police station under sections including 307 (attempt to murder), 120-B (conspiracy) as well as the MCOCA. The Anti Extortion Cell (AEC) of the crime branch took him into custody, the official said. (PTI)
