BENGALURU: The Central Crime Branch (CCB) questioned former underworld don Muthappa Rai as part of an ongoing investigation into gangster Ravi Pujari, who was extradited from Senegal recently.
Police said the questioning of Rai, the founder of pro-Kannada organisation Jaya Karnataka, took place at his home near Bidadi on the outskirts of the city “because of his health condition.”
“ACP Venugopal and inspector MB Bolethin questioned him for over two hours on Wednesday,” Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sandeep Patil, who is heading the team investigating the cases against Pujari, said.
Rai, who is facing serious health problems, had been deported to India in 2002. Both Rai and Pujari had allegedly been associated with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, before parting ways with him. The duo was accused in the sensational murder of Subbaraju, a builder, in Vyalikaval police station limits in 2001 and a court had acquitted Rai in the case. Sources said that the questioning was related to cases in which Rai’s associates had allegedly helped Pujari carry out his operations. Pujari had been extradited from Senegal in January this year.