Gangster Ravi Pujari Arrested In South Africa, To Be Extradited To India From Senegal In 24 Hours: Sources

Gangster Ravi Pujari could be extradited to India in one or two days from Senegal. Pujari, who had jumped bail and gone missing after being arrested in Senegal in January last year, was arrested again from South Africa on Saturday. Pujari has over 200 offences of murder and extortion against him.

According to Times of India, Ravi Pujari was arrested from a remote village in South Africa by Senegal authorities in a joint operation with India's Reseach and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Mangaluru Police. Top sources in Karnataka Police have confirmed to NewsNation that Pujari will be brought to India in next 24 hrs. The police team from Karnataka is working with RAW in Senegal to complete the extradition process, sources said. They said that Karnataka Police has been tracking Pujari for a long time and their information was crucial in his arrest this time.

Ravi Pujari was arrested on January 19 last year from Dakar in Senegal. He was later given bail by a local court in June 2019. He jumped the bail later and was absconding since then. At that time, Pujari had claimed that he was a Burkina Faso citizen named Anthony Fernandes.

According to media reports, Pujari had been arrested only once in India. He was arrested in Mumbai in connection with an attempted murder and rioting case in 1994. He then worked under Chhota Rajan operative Guru Satam. 

According to Republic TV, Pujari had lived between Thailand, Malaysia, Morocco, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Ivory Coast, and Senegal after getting out of India in 1996. It said that there are 39 cases against Pujari in Bengaluru, 36 cases in Mangalore, 11 in Udupi, and one each in Mysuru, Hubli-Dharwad, Kolar, and Shivamogga. Mumbai police have a total of 49 cases against Pujari of which, 26 cases are under the stringent MCOCA. There are around 75 cases of extortion registered against Pujari in Gujarat, according to the report.