‘Pujari’ involved in 35 theft cases held while out on bail

On Monday, Mohali Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Dr Sanjeev Garg, deemed the arrested man, Ravi alias Pujari, to be a notorious thief who had been named in several several theft cases in the past as well.

In the present case, the SSP said, an FIR was registered on November 13 on the complaint of one Sanjeev Garg at Phase 1 police station.

Following the registration of the FIR, a team led by DSP (investigations) Gursher Singh Sandhu probed the case and arrested Pujari.

Garg, while explaining the modus operandi of the accused, said that preliminary investigations had revealed that Pujari used to identify the houses he wanted to target in the daytime and then carried thefts in them at night.

“We are still figuring out if he had an aide working with him, but as of now we think that he was operating alone,” the SSP added.

Stating further, the SSP said that the police had also identified three jewellers who used to buy the stolen items from the accused and they will be arrested soon.

As per details, Ravi had been booked in Pinjore, Panchkula, and Chandigarh and had three cases against him in Mohali.

SSP Garg said that Monday’s arrest had helped them solve one case that had been lodged in Mohali city, and two others filed in Nayagaon.

Who is Ravi alias Pujari?

Ravi (40), is a resident of Pinjore, where police said he often took on the disguise of a priest to mingle with the crowd. He had previously been arrested for for being involved in theft cases and had been released on bailin April this year. After his release, he had got back to his old ways.

Police said they have recovered Rs 4 lakh in cash, one two-wheeler,a a diamond set, diamond bangles, pendents, gold bangles from his possession teh total of which they estimate is around Rs. 1.5 crore.

Interestingly, this is the first time that Pujari was arrested by Punjab Police. Police claim he was active in Mohali and nearby areas for the last five months.

Sources claimed that Pujari had once also entered the house of former Punjab cabinet minister Balbir Singh Sidhu in Mohali, but escaped one of Sidhu’s househelps had woken up. Pujari has previously also been arrested by Chandigarh Police in connection with the theft at the house of a businessman in Sector 36.