Gangster Ravi Pujari has been arrested by the Mumbai Police in connection with a 2018 extortion case involving Bollywood Choreographer and Filmmaker Remo D’Souza and his wife, Lizelle D’Souza. Although Pujari has been lodged in jail since his deportation from Senegal nearly five years ago, this is the first time he has been formally arrested in this particular case.
The Mumbai Crime Branch produced Pujari before the Esplanade Court on Thursday, which remanded him to police custody until January 27. Investigators said his custodial interrogation is necessary to probe his role in allegedly issuing threats and making extortion demands linked to a film-related dispute.
According to police sources, Pujari acted at the behest of Satyendra Tyagi, who is already named as an accused in the case. Between October 2016 and February 2018, Pujari allegedly made multiple threatening phone calls to Remo D’Souza, his wife, and their manager. The threats were aimed at pressuring them to expedite the release of a film and to pay a sum of ₹50 lakh to “settle” the matter.
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The case traces its origins to a business dispute in 2018 involving a film initially titled Amar Must Die. Remo D’Souza and Tyagi had entered into an agreement related to the project, but differences later emerged over financial investments and ownership rights. Tyagi reportedly claimed he had invested in the film and alleged that D’Souza owed him ₹5 crore.
Police allege that Tyagi subsequently sought Pujari’s help to recover the money, leading to the alleged extortion threats against the D’Souza family. With Pujari now in custody for this case, investigators are expected to examine call records, financial links, and the broader extortion network. The case adds to the list of criminal matters involving Pujari, who has been implicated in several high-profile cases over the years.
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