To dodge extradition, Ravi Pujari spends Rs 7 crore in legal fees

New Delhi, Mar 19: India is looking to extradite gangster Ravi Pujari under the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime in the absence of a bilateral extradition treaty with Senegal.

Leading the process would be a top cop from Karnataka. The Union Home Ministry is understood to have granted clearance to a senior police officer from Karnataka to extradite Pujari, who was detained in Dakar on January 19.

In a bid to speed up the extradition process, the Karnataka police have already dispatched evidence to ascertain Pujari's identity. The evidence also includes chargesheets in which Pujari's aides have been prosecuted.

Meanwhile, Pujari has employed top lawyers in Senegal to contest the extradition. Reports suggest that he has spent close to Rs 7 crore in legal fees. India is however confident that it would be able to get Pujari. One of the pre-conditions for the extradition would be that Pujari is not executed. The laws in Senegal do not provide for capital punishment.

India would take hope from the fact that Senegal has been tough on International criminals. In the past few years, several criminals from Italy have been extradited.