Mumbai: A special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime (MCOCA) court on Friday convicted three aides of Ravi Pujari gang for demanding extortion from a Chembur based contractor in 2014.
The court, however, has acquitted Yusuf Bachkana, a close aide of Ravi Pujari, who according to prosecution was in touch with convicted accused via Mobile phone from jail for want of evidence.
The court judge S.M. Bhosle sentenced Vijay Rao (48) and Mahesh Bapu Lohar (42) to 10 years of imprisonment and also imposed a fine of more than Rs10 lakh on both of them. The court sentenced their accomplice Sudhakar Fuge (43) to four years of imprisonment. However, acquitted Yusuf Suleman Kadri alias Yusuf Bachkana (47) and Dipak Gaikwad (40) for want of evidence.
The accused were found guilty of the offence punishable under section 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 387(extortion) 324 (voluntarily causing hurt) and provision of Arms Act and MCOCA.
Chief public prosecutor Jaisingh Desai said that the 23 witnesses were examined during the trial to prove charges against the accused. As per prosecution, the accused had allegedly demanded an extortion of '2 crore from the contractor. Based on the contractor’s complaint, a case was registered by anti-extortion cell of the city police. A trap was laid and the accused were arrested in 2014.
The accused Vijay Rao maintained that police illegally detained him along with two of the co-accused. He had also written letters to the President of India, Prime Minister of India and Supreme Court of India and all of them had issued direction for appropriate action on his complaint.
