Mumbai Crime Branch officials on Friday brought gangster Prasad Pujari from China to Mumbai, an official said. In 2020, the Crime Branch of the Mumbai Police arrested Indira Vithal Pujari, the mother of gangster Prasad Pujari, in connection with an extortion case. According to the police, Indira (62) and two others had been accused of demanding a ransom of Rs 10 lakh from a Mumbai-based builder. The two accused who were arrested had been identified as Sunil Angane (56) and Sukesh Kumar (28). A case had been registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime (MCOC) Act. He was arrested by Mumbai Police on landing at Mumbai Airport and was produced in special MCOCA court for remand. He is currently in the custody of anti extortion cell of the Mumbai Police Crime Branch. He has been remanded to 14 days police custody.
Gangster Prasad Pujari is originally from Mumbai and has been wanted in several murder and extortion cases.
Here are key facts that explain Pujari's criminal history
1) Prasad Pujari, a resident of Tagore Nagar in Vikhroli, fled the country a decade ago. Pujari has been targeting builders and businessmen in East Mumbai.
2) The gangster, who spread terror in Mumbai, had been in China for years, but now the notorious criminal is returning to India. China agreed to send him back, after which the Mumbai Police took action forward in this case.
3) Prasad Pujari was involved in several criminal activities. Pujari has been dodging Mumbai police since 2010.
4) The deadliest act of crime was Pujari's involvement in firing case on Shiv Sena worker Chandrakant Jadhav in 2019.
5) Prasad Pujari was involved in 2020 extortion case that involved a Mumbai-based builder who was arrested in Hong Kong last year on interpol's notice.
6) Pujari was apprehended by authorities in Hong Kong in February 2023. Pujari was detained on charges of possessing a fake passport following a tip-off from Interpol as he was preparing to board a flight from Hong Kong to Shenzhen
7) In connection with the same case, the Crime Branch of the Mumbai Police had arrested Prasad Pujari's mother Indira along with two others—Sunil Angane and Sukesh Kumar—for demanding a ransom of Rs 10 lakh
8) Prasad Pujari was a former associate of deported gangster Kumar Pillai and Chota Rajan's Gang
9) To escape police Prasad Pujari married a Chinese girl and has been staying in Shenzen city of China since 2008. Prasad Pujari was residing in Shenzhen with his wife and child at the time of his arrest.
