Posted:
Nazia Sayed (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 21, 2014)
In a throw-back to the bad old days when underworld's slush funds and threats ruled Bollywood, two top actors and two filmmakers have reported extortion calls from fugitive don Ravi Pujari.
While superstar Salman Khan received a call late last year, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag hero Farhan Akhtar, restaurateur and film producer Farhan Azmi, and filmmaker Ritesh Siddhwani received the calls in January this year. All four individually reported the calls to the Crime Branch, which has launched an investigation.
The matter has also been bought to the notice of the Anti Terrorism Squad, till recently headed by Rakesh Maria, who now heads the Mumbai police.
Pujari, who is believed to be holed up in Australia, targeted builders and hoteliers in the 90s when the underworld was at its peak in Mumbai. Fluent in English, Kannada, Hindi and Tulu, Pujari rose rapidly in the gangland after he killed Bala Zalte, a rival. He later joined gangster Chhota Rajan and moved to Dubai.
He is believed to have ordered the hit on builder Om Prakash Kukreja, who was killed in his Chembur office. His men also attempted to kill Navi Mumbai builder Suresh Wadhwa, who escaped by ducking under his office desk.
According to Crime Branch sources, angered by repeated calls on his cell-phone, Salman got into a scrap with the gangster over the phone. However, Pujari has been relentless, calling the four at all sorts of hours.
The investigations into Pujari's calls are being carried out by the anti-extortion cell of Crime Branch. "I have only recently taken over. I am not aware of this case. I will call Salman, Farhan Akhtar, Farhan Azmi, and Ritesh Siddhwani over to my office and look into their complaints," Crime Branch chief Sadanand Date told Mumbai Mirror on Thursday.
"These calls never stop. Each time after I complain to the police, the phone stops ringing for a few days. But then it starts all over again. The person calls from an unidentified number, which has been traced to Iran, and identifies himself as Ravi Pujari," said Farhan Azmi, hotelier and husband of actress of Ayesha Takia.
Personal staff of all four confirmed the threat calls, but refused to speak on record. "Yes, Salman has been receiving these calls. The matter has been reported to the Crime Branch. We are aware of threat calls made to Boney Kapoor and Karan Johar. We thought approaching the cops was the best way to deal with this," said a member of the actor's core team.
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