Mumbai Crime: How the AEC pursued and put extortionists behind bars

(From top) Ejaz Lakdawala, Ravi Pujari and Suresh Pujari were among the gangsters in whose names almost 80 per cent of the extortion calls in the city were made. File pics

Thanks to the efforts of the Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) of Mumbai Crime Branch, and the arrests of various gangsters in the past eight years, threat calls made by the underworld to extort money from Mumbai builders, businessmen, celebrities, and politicians, have reduced to just one in 2022. In the year 2017 there were 97 such calls.

In the past eight years, the city has received 390 threat calls from the underworld. Operations against gangsters like Ejaz Lakdawala, Suresh Pujari, Prasad Pujari, and Ravi Pujari, who have been behind almost 80 per cent of the extortion calls in the city, were accelerated during the tenure of joint commissioner Sanjay Saxena in 2016. After Saxena's tenure, action against these gangsters was intensified during the tenure of IPS officer Santosh Rastogi, and extortion calls fell by almost 90 per cent.

Crime Branch officers with Ravi Pujari after his arrest. File pic

During Rastogi's tenure in January 2020, Ejaz Lakdawala, who was operating from Nepal, was arrested in Patna. Lakdawala had almost 100 cases against him for life threats to builders and businessmen to extort money. "His arrest saw a sharp fall in the number of extortion calls, which were reported to the police by builders and businessmen," said an officer from the crime branch. Around 24 gangsters who were working for Lakdawala and other gangsters were arrested during the tenure of Rastogi.

Also Read: Mumbai woman, Goa-based man held for robbing businessman in Dombivali

As per the Mumbai Crime Branch, in 2020, the city police received complaints about 11 threat calls from gangsters; in 2021, the number of threat calls was 14, and in 2022, there was just one which came from abroad and is believed to be from Chhota Shakeel. In 2018, 83 extortion calls were made; in 2017, 97; in 2016, 93; and in 2015, 50 threat calls were made by these gangsters.

In 2019, Ravi Pujari was arrested from Senegal by Karnataka police. The Mumbai Crime Branch played an important role in preparing a dossier against Pujari as he has dozens of extortion, murder and attempt to murder cases in Mumbai. Suresh Pujari was brought back from the Philippines in December 2021 when Milind Bharambe was the joint commissioner of Mumbai Crime Branch.

Pursuit still on

The AEC is now working on nabbing Prasad Pujari who is operating from China and has been involved in multiple threat calls. The AEC has dismantled his gang in Mumbai.

The NIA recently arrested various members of the D gang who include Saleem Fruit, brother-in-law of Chhota Shakeel, Arif Bhaijan and Arif Abubakar Shaikh who tried to extort money from builders in Mumbai. The AEC also arrested multiple members of the D gang who have been involved in extortion activities.

"The data clearly speaks how the crime branch has worked in the past and we will continue working in the same direction," said Lakhmi Gautam, joint commissioner (Crime) Mumbai police.

97
No of threat calls made in 2017