BENGALURU: A city court on Friday remanded gangster Ravi Pujari in Mumbai police custody for 10 days, following their request that they need to produce him before a court there in connection with a 2015 Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) case, in which the gangster’s associates were arrested for allegedly conspiring to eliminate builder Raju Patil.
An official of the Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) of Mumbai’s Crime Branch had requested the court, seeking Poojary’s custody, to furnish relevant documents. It included the letter by Special Judge for MCOCA cases, requesting to give consent for handing over custody of the accused and direction to the prison authorities in this regard. The request was made as Poojary is to be questioned in the ‘answer charge’ hearing, in which he will be required to either plead guilty or not guilty.
Objecting to the application, Poojary’s counsel contended that the application cannot be entertained as there was no mention of the case in the Extradition Order (EO), and unless and until the EO contains the case number, no order can be passed. He further contended that a writ petition is pending before the Karnataka High Court, and the accused cannot be transited till disposal of the cases in Karnataka. “Due to the Covid-19 situation, if the accused is shifted to Mumbai, there will be chances of (him) contracting Covid-19. In such an event, the accused will be put to greater hardship,” the counsel argued, adding that there is danger to Poojary’s life in Mumbai.
Hearing the arguments, the 61st Additional City Civil & Sessions Judge, SR Manikya, observed that the framing of charges is necessary, and presence of the accused is very necessary for the purpose. “When such being the circumstances, if a consent letter for production of the accused is not issued, the progress of the case will be hampered and the case cannot be concluded,” the judge observed, and ordered remanding of the accused in Mumbai police custody for 10 days.
The court directed Mumbai police to take Poojary into custody before December 12, and to take necessary safety measures while taking him to Mumbai. The case is related to the arrest of the associates of Ravi Poojary by sleuths of the AEC near Mangatram Petrol Pump, on March 12, 2015. The police had arrested Aniket Anand Jadhav and Abhishek Shailendra Salvi, and Bharat Hari Singh Ved on the spot, and had seized two country-made pistols and 12 live cartridges. Investigation had revealed that they were planning to eliminate Raju Patil, a builder from Dombivli and brother of a former Maharashtra MLA, and a few others were arrested later.