Extortionists call the shots from Dubai

BANGALORE: It was a chilly night in 1998, when two bullets were fired at Durga Travels in the busy Majestic area. No one was hurt, but many questions popped up: who fired the bullets and why, and who was the target.
Two days later, a barely-known gangster called Bannanje Raja claimed responsibility for it. Despite a hot chase by the police, Raja escaped to Dubai.
By that time, Raja had made it to the headlines and his name was known among the underworld operators here.He started calling the shots from Dubai, using some little-known youths who had gone to jail. After his involvement in several extortion calls, the city police issued a red-corner notice against him.
Two years ago, he was arrested in Abu Dhabi. Before being extradited to India, four cheque bounce cases cropped up against Raja there. The extradition was put off to complete the legalities of the cases. Insiders say that Raja, with the help of associates, masterminded these cases to escape being extradited.
However, Raja had made a beginning with his long-distance extortion calls. The same trick was mastered by Ravi Pujari, who has not visited India for the past 15 years. No one is sure if he has visited Bangalore ever, but targets businessmen here. Police are not too sure if the photo they have is that of Ravi Pujari or someone else.
LONG-DISTANCE EXTORTION MAFIA
This is a modus operandi used by people in Dubai to make easy money. All they need is some media attention and the tag of `underworld don'. They thrive on the fear of their reputations. Since Karnataka is a pretty tranquil state, such callers get special attention.
They identify youths who have gone astray, landing in jail on counts of murder or attempts to murder. Such youths are contacted in jail itself and bail arranged for them. Once they are out, the youths are provided firearms, which itself is a huge leap in `career' for these small-timers.
Their first assignment would be to barge into some office and open fire in the air. Prior to the firing, operators like Ravi Pujari and Bannanje Raja would have made extortion calls to the owners. This would bring them back into the media glare.
Like Pujari, there are many who use the same tactic in other states also. Interestingly, three criminals from UP, serving time in Tihar Jail, hired an Arab national Ali Buddesin, to make threatening calls in UP and Delhi. Most times, complaints are not registered against such callers and even if they are, the call would be traced to some public phone in a Gulf country. After extorting money, the booty is shared.
OVERSEAS CALLING CARDS
It is very difficult for investigating agencies to keep track when callers use Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and also collect caller cards of different countries. Using these cards, the extortion calls are made from public phones, misleading officers on the whereabouts of these operators.
It is not necessary that extortion calls always bring in the money. Sometimes, they may call the wrong person, or the number may be vague. Sometimes, the demand for Rs 50 crore may yield just a few lakhs of rupees.
Many jokes are doing the rounds among the underworld on the way such calls end. One person who received such an extortion call was a petty shop owner, who had less than Rs 50 in his pocket, and offered to give even that. To which the caller said: "It's ok, give me two telephone numbers of persons who may have a lot of money.''
THE MYSTERY CALLED RAVI PUJARI
Hailing from somewhere near Mangalore-Udupi, Pujari's father was born and brought up in Mumbai. He went to Dubai early in life, and there are no records of his return to India. Not even the Mumbai police have details about his activities.
In the early stages, Ravi Pujari worked with Chhota Rajan and later became independent. Unlike Bannanje Raja, there are no police documents against Pujari. By and large, his attacks on offices would be carried out either on holidays or late evenings, when the offices were empty. Basically, he wanted to send the message, without violence.
City police commissioner Shankar Bidari said there are at least 13 cases registered against Ravi Pujari for such extortion calls. So far, at least 26 associates of Pujari have been arrested and two injured in police encounters.
Interestingly, none of these 26 people have seen Ravi Pujari and all the deals were settled through phone calls. Some important cases include the attacks on Shabnam Developers and UTV office. In both cases, the attackers were arrested.
PLAYING PATRIOT
Of late, Pujari has started playing the patriotic card too. In his calls, he speaks of fighting the Dawood gang, which is slowly getting into Bangalore's businesses too. He says he will use the extortion money to fight Dawood and his henchmen, who are traitors.
It is said he had made an extortion call to Mantri Developers 15 months ago. The attack was being planned since then, and Pujari was looking for boys who could execute the attack. Once he got hold of Chandu and his associates, he got the office attacked.