The Thane police will now take custody of gangster Suresh Pujari in the pending 24 cases against him. The Thane police had applied for his custody and have got approval from the court. Sources from the Thane police said he was last arrested in 2003, after which he fled the country.
The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) officials on Wednesday took custody of gangster Suresh Pujari in connection with an extortion case of Mahatma Phule Chowk police station in Kalyan.
Pujari was recently deported from the Philippines, from where he was believed to have been operating his extortion racket. Pujari was produced before a local court in Thane which remanded him to ATS custody till December 25.
Ashok Morale, additional commissioner of police, Thane Crime Branch said, "Pujari has 26 cases against him in Thane commissionerate. He was arrested in two of the cases and was wanted in 24 cases registered against him. He was also booked in three different cases under the stricken Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act. We will seek his custody in one of the MCOCA cases," added Morale.
A senior official from Thane police said they had applied for Pujari's custody in one of the MCOCA courts in Thane court on Friday. The police informed the court about Pujari was wanted in the case and is in the custody of ATS.
"The court had now released a warrant approving his custody. He is now in ATS custody. Accordingly, he will be taken into custody after it ends on December 25. He will be then taken into custody across the police station where he was booked for extortion and threatening cases," he added.
Morale further added that Pujari was last arrested in 2003, and since then, he has become a wanted person. A Red Corner Notice (RCN) was issued against him on December 20, 2016, which was valid till December 19, 2021.
Pujari was allegedly involved in around 38 criminal cases, and 26 of those cases were registered by the Thane police.
Pujari has different cases in Thane for threatening and firing at hoteliers and cable operators across Ulhasnagar and Bhiwandi. He also has cases registered against him for threatening current housing minister Jitendra Awhad, BJP MLA Ganpat Gaikwad, and Omi Kalani, son of gangster Pappu Kalani.
