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Curtains on Mumbai’s gangster era
Updated On: 01 April, 2024 06:55 AM IST | Mumbai | Faizan Khan
As cops extradite Prasad Pujari from China, official data shows major extortion calls have dropped from 94 in 2015 to just one in 2023 and 2024
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The Crime Branch’s anti-extortion cell was formed in the late 1990s to deal with gangsters targeting businessmen and celebrities. Representation Pic
The arrest of gangster Prasad Pujari, who was deported from China last week, seems to herald the end of the gangsterism that once plagued the city. According to Crime Branch data, extortion calls declined from 94 in 2015 to just one each in 2023 and 24. The anti-extortion cell of the Crime Branch was formed in the late 1990s to deal with such calls, which were received by businessmen, builders and celebrities. Gangsters such Chhota Rajan, Ejaz Lakdawala and Ravi, Suresh and Prasad Pujari, who were responsible for the majority of extortion calls, have been extradited to India to face justice. “These gangsters had sophisticated team members operating within the city on their behalf.
We dismantled their local gangs by invoking the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) and compiled robust dossiers to ensure the gangsters’ extradition to face the law in India. While it was a time-consuming process, most of them have now been brought back to the city and are being held accountable under the law,” stated an officer of the anti-extortion cell. According to the cops, the anti-extortion cell received around 500 calls in the past ten years related to the gangsters who are behind bars at present.
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