Prasad Gangster Pujari arrested after two decades, withdrawn in police custody

The anti-exotion cell (AEC) of the Mumbai police crime branch arrested Prasad Pujari, Alias ​​Subhash Vithal, in connection with a 2023 case in which he threatened Shiv Sena’s leader Chandrashekhar Jadhav, several times. Pujari, deported from China on March 22, 2024, was running for two decades while operating from abroad.

Pujari is accused of calling Jadhav repeatedly from Hong Kong between 2022 and 2023, asking for a certificate of objection without objections (noc) for his mother’s bail in a crime attempt. He would have threatened serious consequences if Jadhav refused. Pujari’s mother, the cousin and six others were arrested in 2020, after his shooter fired at Jadhav, hurting his hand. The case was registered in accordance with the Maharashtra control law of organized crime (MCOCA).

Jadhav recorded some of Pujari’s calls and sent them to AEC, which led to an investigation. One case was officially registered against Pujari in March 2023. At his recent arrest, the police gathered his voice samples for forensic verification. He was withdrawn in police custody until March 10th.

Pujari has an extended criminal record, with 11 cases of murder, attempted murder and extortment against La Vikhroli, Gratkopar, LT Marg, Police and AEC stations. He had previously spent two and a half years in prison for a crime attempt, but was paid in 2005 due to insufficient evidence.

The December 2020 attack on Jadhav took place near a Temple Sai Baba in Vikhroli East, where the shooters Sagar Mishra and Shety have ambuscuded. While Mishra was caught by Jadhav’s son and participants, Shetty fled, but was later identified through CCTV materials. During the investigation, the police arrested Pujari’s cousin, Sukesh Kumar, from Mangalore and his mother, Indira, from Mira Road because he had financed the extortion rocket. The authorities also discovered that Indira has traveled to China and Hong Kong five times between 2009 and 2016 to meet his son.

Pujari, originally from Tagore Nagar, Vikhroli, was once associated with the Gangster Pillai network. Seeking to expand his operations, he moved to China in 2005 on a student visa, he seems to have studied Chinese and mass communication. However, he continued to carry out his criminal activities from abroad. With his arrest, the authorities are now investigating his international connections and the criminal network in Mumbai.