Gangster Ravi Pujari charge-sheeted

Police have formally charged underworld gangster Ravi Pujari in two sensational crimes that occurred in Bengaluru years ago.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the CCB filed a charge sheet against Malpe-born Pujari almost a week ago. While one case pertains to the killing of two employees of Shabnam Developers, the second is about the Rs 5 crore the gangster had extorted from a builder, said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), Sandeep Patil. Pujari is presently in the custody of the SIT which is interrogating him about many other crimes as well.

In 2007, Pujari’s henchmen had allegedly stormed into the offices of Shabnam Developers in Jayanagar and shot down a receptionist named Shylaja and a driver named Ravi. The case was registered as a double murder at the Tilak Nagar police station. The extortion case was registered at the Whitefield police station.

A senior officer said the charge sheet had been annexed with the relevant evidence, such as call detail records, Pujari’s confessional statement and witness accounts.

In all, Pujari faces a staggering 97 cases across Karnataka, 47 of them in Bengaluru alone. He was brought to the city last February, after having been on the run for almost two decades. Police had also questioned reformed underworld don Muthappa Rai, a week before he died of cancer last month, about his relations with Pujari.

Patil said other cases were still being investigated and that charge sheets would be filed once they had sufficient evidence.