The Great Gamble
There was a time, not too long ago, when the mere mention of money was anathema in sports ~ professionals were allowed in Wimbledon for the first time in 1968, and in the Olympics only from 1988.
Underworld don Ravi Pujari who was on run for over 15 years has been arrested in South Africa and is being brought to India, a top police official said on Sunday.
A team of officials including senior IPS officers from Karnataka has taken the responsibility to bring the fugitive don to India.
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As reported by news agency PTI, Pujari was deported to Senegal in West Africa following his arrest and later extradited.
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He has been wanted in many cases including extortion and murder in different parts of the country.
Pujari was arrested last year in the month of January in Senegal and jumped bail after which he remained elusive.
“(We are) coming with him from Senegal. Now in Paris. (We are) coming by Air France and (would be) there (in India) by midnight,” the police official, part of the team, told PTI.
Pujari, who is from Karnataka, was likely to be brought to Bengaluru by Monday morning, police sources said.
As per the sources, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) would join the investigation.
Over 200 cases including murder and extortion are registered against the gangster.
Last year when Pujari was arrested in Senegal, the Indian officials tried to extradite him but a local court granted him bail and Pujari later fled to South Africa.
Police sources on Sunday said the gangster was arrested from a village in a joint operation by the South African and Senegal police.
After he was brought to Senegal, the Indian team completed extradition formalities, they added.
Pujari was initially associated with gangster Chhota Rajan, but he had also worked for fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.
(With inputs from PTI)
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