Ravi Pujari gangmen held; reveal hit list comprising Shah Rukh, Farah, Bhatt

[email protected] (CD Network)
November 19, 2014

Mumbai, Nov 19: An interrogation of the 13 gang members of two factions of fugitive gangster Ravi Pujari revealed that Bollywood king Shah Rukh Khan and directors Mahesh Bhatt and Farah Khan were on his radar.

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According to sources, the arrested criminals revealed that Poojary had instructed them to track the movements of choreographer and director Farah Khan and also keep a watch on King Khan's Red Chillies office.

Mahesh Bhatt was also under the scanner for the past two months. Having made these arrests, the Mumbai police also claims to have cracked the case of shooting outside the residence of Bollywood fim producer-brothers Karim and Ali Morani.

A police officer said that Ravi Pujari had ordered his men to open fire outside actor Shah Rukh Khan's office and director Farah Khan's residence as part of an extortion bid. Police also said the gang had planned to shoot at producer Mahesh Bhatt, so as to create panic in the film industry.

"The accused had done recces of the residence of director Farah Khan and the office of Red Chillies owned by film actor Shahrukh Khan," said additional commissioner of police (Crime) K M M Prasanna. He added, "The accused had checked out the entry points and exits at both the places and were aware about the numbers of guards and the places where they were posted."

The interrogation of the arrested accused revealed that the address of Shahrukh's office and Farah's residence had been given to them by one Obaid Radiowala from New Jersey, who is also one of the wanted accused in Bhatt's case.

Thirteen gang members were on Monday arrested outside Bhatt's office in Khar before they could execute their plan.

Ravi Pujari, a notorious criminal from coastal Karnataka, started as a small-town gangster in Andheri, Mumbai. He later joined Chota Rajan's gang. He moved to Dubai in the late 1990s and extorted money from builders and hoteliers. They parted ways after Dawood attempted to kill Rajan in 2000. Pujari is believed to have been hiding in Australia now and calls the police sometimes, claiming to have targetted people close to Dawood Ibrahim and his aide Chhota Shakeel.

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News Network
December 2,2025

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Bengaluru: 'Nati koli saaru' (country chicken curry) considered one of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s favourites along with steaming hot idlis was on the breakfast menu at Deputy CM D K Shivakumar’s residence on Tuesday, according to official sources.

The spread also included 'nati koli' fry, vada and pongal, among other items, they said.

In an apparent show of unity, Siddaramaiah visited Shivakumar’s residence for breakfast, just days after the two leaders shared a meal amid a simmering power tussle in the state Congress.

Siddaramaiah drove to the Deputy CM’s residence in Sadashivanagar, where he was received by Shivakumar and his brother D K Suresh, who is a former Congress MP.

Suresh and Kunigal MLA H D Ranganath, a relative of Shivakumar, joined them for breakfast, which featured a mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.

Speaking to reporters later, Siddaramaiah said Shivakumar had invited him during his visit to the CM’s residence for breakfast on Saturday.

Asked about the difference between the two meals, the chief minister said, "At his (Shivakumar’s) house it was non-veg, while at my house it was veg. He is a vegetarian, I am a non-vegetarian. I had not prepared non-veg. I told DK to get chicken from the village as you won’t get the original in Bengaluru."

Shivakumar said he had initially invited Siddaramaiah to his residence, but the CM had suggested visiting his place first and reciprocating later. "It was a vegetarian breakfast at the CM’s house on Saturday," he noted.

"Today, I invited him (the CM) to my house. He enjoyed the breakfast, which had his Mysuru taste," Shivakumar added. At this point, Siddaramaiah remarked that Shivakumar’s wife is also from Mysuru.

Saturday’s breakfast at Siddaramaiah’s official residence, held as part of efforts by the Congress high command to ease tensions in the leadership dispute between the two, reportedly included idlis and sambar, according to official sources.

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News Network
December 7,2025

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Mangaluru, Dec 7: A rare bamboo shrimp has been rediscovered on mainland India more than 70 years after it was last reported, confirming for the first time the presence of Atyopsis spinipes in the country. The find was made by researchers from the Centre for Climate Change Studies at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, during surveys in Karnataka and Odisha.

The team — shrimp expert Dr S Prakash, PhD scholar K Kunjulakshmi, and Mangaluru-based researcher Maclean Antony Santos — combined field surveys, ecological assessments and DNA analysis to identify the elusive species. Their findings, published in Zootaxa, resolve decades of taxonomic confusion stemming from a 1951 report that misidentified the species as Atyopsis moluccensis without strong evidence.

The shrimp has now been confirmed at two locations: the Mulki–Pavanje estuary near Mangaluru and the Kuakhai River in Bhubaneswar. Historical specimens from the Andaman Islands, previously labelled as A. moluccensis, were also found to be misidentified and actually belong to A. spinipes.

The rediscovery began after an aquarium hobbyist in Odisha spotted a shrimp in 2022, prompting systematic surveys across Udupi, Karwar and Mangaluru. Four female specimens were collected in Mulki and one in Odisha, all genetically matching.

Researchers warn the species may exist in very small, vulnerable populations as freshwater habitats face increasing pressure from pollution, sand mining and infrastructure development. All verified specimens have been deposited with the Zoological Survey of India for future reference.

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News Network
December 15,2025

Mangaluru police have arrested a 27-year-old NRI on his return from Saudi Arabia in connection with an Instagram post allegedly containing derogatory and provocative remarks about the Hindu religion, officials said on Monday.

The accused, Abdul Khader Nehad, a resident of Ulaibettu in Mangaluru, was working in Saudi Arabia when the post was uploaded, police said.

A suo motu case was registered at the Bajpe police station on October 11 after an allegedly offensive post circulated from the Instagram account ‘team_sdpi_2025’. Police said the content was flagged for being provocative and derogatory in nature.

During the investigation, technical analysis traced the Instagram post to Nehad, who was residing abroad at the time, a senior police officer said. Based on these findings, a Look Out Circular (LOC) was issued against him.

On December 14, Nehad arrived from Saudi Arabia at Calicut International Airport in Kerala, where he was taken into custody on arrival. Police said further investigation is underway.

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