MUMBAI: Fugitive gangster Ravi Pujari, who had jumped bail and gone missing after being arrested in Senegal in January last year, was arrested again from South Africa early on Saturday, sources said.
The arrest was made from a distant village in South Africa by the Senegal authorities in a joint operation with Indias Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Mangaluru police, sources in the know said.
News of the fresh arrest has apparently been kept under wraps as the Indian government wants to get him back without undergoing the formalities they had to go through last year.
Sources said senior officials from the Union home ministry and foreign affairs ministry had been coordinating with Senegal authorities in order to get Pujari deported at the earliest instead of pushing for an extradition, which would be a time-consuming process.
One of the things that might complicate things if an extradition is sought is that Pujari has been living under the assumed name of Anthony Fernandes and has claimed to be a Burkina Faso citizen. An offence registered against him abroad would also be a hindrance in that case, and it is suspected that he had got a cheating case registered against himself last year to avoid deportation as usually a criminal is tried for an offence committed in the country where he is held before being sent back.
Indian authorities are hoping deportation would be an easier option, sources said. The sources added that if all goes well, Pujari would be brought to India on Sunday or by Monday morning, though it is not clear if he will be taken to Mumbai, Mangaluru or Delhi.
Pujari, who started off in the 1990s as a Chhota Rajan aide, has more than 200 offences of murder and extortion against him. Last year, he was held in the cheating case by Senegal authorities. He then managed to procure bail on certain conditions and went missing. TOI had reported in its June 9, 2019 edition that he had jumped bail and may have fled Senegal.
Sources said ever Read More – Source
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