Bengaluru: 13 years after murders, gangster Ravi Pujari chargesheeted

BENGALURU: Thirteen years after two sharpshooters sent by him gunned down two employees in a builder's office, gangster Ravi Pujari was chargesheeted and named prime accused in the double-murder case.
Central Crime Branch sleuths probing multiple cases against Pujari filed chargesheets in two cases on Friday - the Tilaknagar double murder in 2007 and an extortion call made to a builder in 2017.
These are the first chargesheets filed by city police against Pujari, who was extradited from Senegal, South Africa, in February this year. The chargesheets run into 570 pages and contain nearly 100 statements of eyewitnesses, investigating officers, doctors and others.
Pujari faces over 90 cases in the state, 35 of which are in Bengaluru alone. Joint commissioner of police (crime) Sandeep Patil said probe will continue in the two cases.
On Februar y 15, 2007, two unidentified men barged into the office of Shabnam Develo pers in Tilaknagar and shot dead receptionist Shylaja and office assistant Lohitashwa. Tilaknagar police, who named Pujari as prime accused, arrested 14 men, who were later acquitted due to lack of evidence.
"In the chargesheet, we have specified that the shooters were hired by Pujari. In 2006, he had called Shabnam Developers officials and demanded money. However, his demand was refused," an officer said.
In 2017, a builder from Whitefield received a threat call allegedly from Pujari. "He filed a complaint saying Pujari was demanding Rs 5 crore from him. The chargesheet has scientific evidence like call and voice records," officers said.