Ten Ravi Pujari gang members get 5 years in jail for conspiring to kill Mahesh Bhatt, family

Ten members of fugitive underworld don Ravi Pujari’s gang were sentenced to five years in jail in Mumbai for plotting to kill filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and his family, reports Indian Express. The convicted members had conspired to murder the director in 2014 on Pujari’s instructions. [caption id=“attachment_4446231” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Mahesh Bhatt. Image from Twitter/@PoojaB1972[/caption] The Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act convicted Ishrat Shaikh, 44, Mohmad Khan, 43, Aazim Khan, 22, Ashfak Sayyed, 28, Asif Khan, 31, Shahnawaz Shaikh, 39, Firoz Shayyed, 33, Shabbir Shaikh, 26, Rahim Khan, 46 and Mohmmad Anis Merchant, 38. Judge Shridhar Bhosle found the ten men guilty under under section 120B of the IPC (criminal conspiracy) and other valid provisions of the Arms Act. One of the prime accused in the case, Yusuf Kadri alias Yusuf Bachkana, was acquitted by the court, according to a report by Hindustan Times. The prosecution said the conspiracy started back when one of the members of the gang had a tiff with the Morani Brothers with regard to Happy New Year, the movie that they were producing. The member, who is identified as Obaid Merchant, wanted the international rights of the film. Reports claim that Pujari, who is absconding and believed to be living abroad, wanted to revive his empire in Mumbai by targeting Mahesh Bhatt and his brother Mukesh. According to Bhatt’s statement, Pujari had been planning his murder since 2006. He says he was open fired at the same year by the don’s men just outside his office. He started receiving death threats again in 2007, just when his daughter’s film Dhoka had released. Bhatt and his daughter were reportedly in their office when they received the threat on the telephone.