Five members of Ravi Poojari gang arrested under MCOCA

Mumbai, Jan 15 (UNI) Crime Branch sleuths today arrested five members of underworld don Ravi Poojari, who had unleashed a reign of terror in the metropolis, under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

All the five were produced before MCOCA judge M R Bhatkar this afternoon.

Police sought their custody for further interrogation in connection with their involvement in organised crime. The Judge remanded them to police custody till January 29.

Santosh Appu Poojari (33), Ramesh Sudhershan Kanojiya (27), Arvind Mohan Devadiga 34, Nityanand Vithal Shetty (22) and Sampat Shankar Kotiyan (23) were put under MCOCA.

Earlier, the police arrested these gangsters from Ghatkopar area when they reached there to eliminate a hotelier on December 13 last year and seized four imported pistols, one revolver, 25 cartridges from their possession.

Later, on interrogation they confessed their alleged role in firing at Bolloywood Producer Mahesh Bhatt's office on June 14.

Since Mr Bhatt was not in the office, they fired one round and left an envelope there asking Mr Bhatt to contact Ravi Poojari on his telephone number.

All the arrested people were also wanted in firing at a builder at Andheri in western suburbs, a hotelier at Mulund in the eastern suburbs, Dombivali in Thane and Juinagar in Navi Mumbai and actively involved in extortion activities in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai areas.

UNI