Gangster Suresh Pujari deported to India from Philippines; Mumbai crime branch to take custody

Gangster Suresh Pujari, wanted in several extortion cases in Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan, Ulhasnagar, Dombivli and Karnataka, has been deported to India from the Philippines, a senior police official said. He has been handed over to the Mumbai crime branch. Pujari's custody was taken by Intelligence Bureau (IB) and CBI officials after he landed at the Delhi airport, the official added.

Pujari, who has 25 offenses registered against him in Mumbai, was nabbed in the Philippines in October. A Mumbai Crime Branch team is already present in Delhi to take his custody. Earlier, the Mumbai and Thane police had issued red-corner notices against him in 2017 and 2018 respectively after several extortion cases surfaced against him.

Pujari, on the run for the past 15 years, was brought back to India after he was arrested and extradited from the Philippines.

His name was first heard in 2002, when Ravi Pujari orchestrated an attack on advocate Majeed Memon. Suresh Pujari was arrested and booked under the MCOCA. He had allegedly once threatened NCP minister Jitendra Awhad and Omie Kalani, son of Ulhasnagar strongman Pappu Kalani.

Early in his career in crime, he worked with underworld don Chhota Rajan and Ravi Pujari and later formed his own gang, the official said.

Meanwhile, fugitive gangster Ravi Pujari was arrested and brought to Mumbai last year. The 59-year-old gangster was on the run since 1994 before he was arrested in Senegal last year. Mumbai Police sought the custody of gangster Pujari in connection with the 2016 Ghazali Hotel firing case. Ravi Pujari is wanted in 49 cases, which includes charges of murder, attempt to murder and extortion.