Ravi Pujari is an Indian

gangster A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''Organized crime, mob'' and the suffix ''wikt:-ster, -st ...

who is involved in various murders and threats to Indian celebrities and businessmen. In January 2019, he was arrested in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

. He is also noted for his philanthropy work in

Western Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Ma ...

Career

Ravi Pujari started his criminal career in 1980s and by 21st century he formed his own gang. As per the

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

, Pujari was believed to be hiding in Australia then and had an Australian passport. He often called up the police claiming to have targeted people close to Dawood or his aide Chhota Shakeel. On 13 February 2016 over the controversy of

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU; ISO: Javāharalāla Neharū Viśvavidyālaya) is a public research university located in Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university ...

(JNU) protests, Ravi Pujari threatened to eliminate islamist hardliner Hurriyat faction

Syed Ali Shah Geelani Syed Ali Shah Geelani (29 September 1929 – 1 September 2021) was an Islamist Kashmiri-separatist leader in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. A pro-Pakistan separatist, Sumantra BoseSyed Ali Shah Geelani: The man who fought for Kashmir ...

. In 2017 and 2018, various activists in India including students and MLAs filed police complaints that they were receiving death threats from Ravi Pujari, now in Australia. In 2019 Kerala MLA P. C. George complained that he got threats from Ravi Pujari as death threats for his kids. Kerala Police verified that Mr George got calls from Senegal. From 2009 to 2013, Pujari threatened many Bollywood actors like

Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; born 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who predominantly works in Hindi films. In a career spanning over three decades, his awards include two National Film Awa ...

Akshay Kumar Akshay Hari Om Bhatia (born Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia; 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian actor and film producer working in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as "Khiladi Kumar", through his career span ...

Karan Johar Karan Yash Johar (born Rahul Kumar Johar; 25 May 1972), often informally referred to as KJo, is an Indian filmmaker, producer and television personality who primarily works in Hindi cinema. He has launched the careers of several successful ac ...

Rakesh Roshan Rakesh Roshan (born 6 September 1949) is an Indian film producer, director, screenwriter and actor who works in Bollywood, Hindi films. He appeared in 84 films in the 1970s and 1980s. As an actor, he is mostly known for his supporting roles in ...

, and

Shahrukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood" and "King Khan", he has appeared in more th ...

. Ravi Pujari threatened

Shah Rukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as the "Padishah, Baadshah of Bollywood" and "King Khan", he has Shah Rukh K ...

for his relationship with Karim Morani who is a friend and business partner of Shah Rukh Khan. While he was in Senegal, he ran a restaurant chain called ‘Namaste India’ with nine outlets in

western Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Ma ...

. He provided drinking water facilities in various rural areas which were affected by

water scarcity Water scarcity (closely related to water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity. One is ''physical.'' The other is ''economic water scarcity''. Physic ...

and made donations in the region. His philanthropy related work was also noted by the regional newspapers of the region.

Arrest

On 21 January 2019, Pujari was arrested from a barber shop in Dakar, Senegal where he was living with his family under the name Anthony Fernandes. Mumbai police were then preparing a request for his extradition. Pujari held a

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

passport. Previously, he was believed to be residing in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Pujari had escaped to South Africa while on local bail in Senegal, before being arrested in a joint South African-Senegalese operation in South Africa in February 2020. He was extradited to Senegal and then India in the same month. He was brought to the Karnataka police and was wanted for 10 serious offences in both Karnataka and Mumbai.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pujari, Ravi Indian gangsters Living people Year of birth missing (living people)