Mumbai Police get custody of gangster Ravi Pujari after Senegal clearance

Fresh legal clearance from Senegalese authorities has paved the way for Mumbai Police to finally arrest alleged underworld gangster Ravi Pujari in a longpending extortion case linked to a stalled Bollywood film officials saidAlthough Pujari was extradited to India from Senegal in 2021 the extradition was initially restricted to specific cases in Karnataka and only 10 cases in Mumbai due to technical and legal limitations imposed by Senegalese courtsAlthough the Mumbai Police arrested Pujari following his extradition they were unable to take him into custody for other serious offences registered against him in the city including extortion matters connected to the film industrySenior officials from the Mumbai Police said that at the time of extradition Senegalese authorities had granted permission to proceed legally against Pujari in 10 cases in Mumbai where strong evidence had been presented However other cases mdash including an extortion complaint filed by the wife of a noted choreographerdirector mdash remained pending due to the absence of formal approvalThat situation changed last year in September when the Mumbai Crime Branch received fresh clearance from Senegalese authorities to initiate legal action in nine additional cases registered against PujariThe extortion case linked to the stalled film was among the newly approved matters enabling investigators to move court for a production warrant and formally arrest Pujari in the case earlier this month They received legal clearance to proceed against Pujari in 19 cases registered in the cityPujari 56 was subsequently arrested by the Mumbai Police AntiExtortion Cell on January 22 after being produced before a local courtAccording to police records the case stems from a 2013 production agreement between a noted choreographerdirector and a film producer The project was budgeted at R5 crore with the producer allegedly investing R3 crore and the remaining R2 crore coming from the choreographerrsquos production company As per the agreement film rights were to vest with the latterrsquos firm and profits or losses were to be shared equallyPolice said that although a major portion of the film was completed mdash including choreography expenses of about R1 crore borne by the choreographerrsquos company mdash creative and commercial differences surfaced during postproductionInvestigators allege that from 2015 onwards the producer repeatedly pressured the choreographer and his wife to release the film The situation allegedly escalated into intimidation including visits to their office repeated phone calls and the alleged circulation of images of firearms on WhatsAppBetween October 2016 and February 2018 Pujari and his associate allegedly issued threats through multiple international phone numbers demanding R50 lakh to ldquosettlerdquo the dispute police said Audio recordings of some of these alleged calls are part of the case diaryWith Senegal now clearing legal action in additional cases police say Pujarirsquos arrest marks a significant step in closing several longpending investigations Further probe is underway to examine his alleged financial links call records and whether provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act MCOCA may be invoked again2021Year Pujari was extradited from SenegalRs 50LAmount Pujari demanded to settle film dispute