A Mumbai court convicted ten members of the Ravi Pujari gang on Wednesday (April 25) and acquitted two others in connection with a plot to murder Bollywood filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt in 2014.
The 10 men were sentenced to a five-year jail term after being found guilty under charges of criminal conspiracy and abetment to a crime punishable by life imprisonment and sections of the Arms Act.
The police claimed that the attack was planned to spread terror in the entertainment industry after one of the absconding accused refused overseas distribution rights of a film. However, the gang was arrested before the execution of the plan.
The ten accused are Ishrat Shaikh (44), Mohmad Khan (43), Aazim Khan (22), Ashfak Sayyed (28), Asif Khan (31), Shahnawaz Shaikh (39), Firoz Shayyed (33), Shabbir Shaikh (26), Rahim Khan (46) and Mohammad Anis Merchant (38).
Ravi Pujari, who is said to be living abroad, wanted to revive his gang in Mumbai by targeting Mahesh Bhatt or his brother Mukesh Bhatt or Bhatt’s son Rahul, according to the police.