Nagpur (Maharashtra): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday moved the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court for transfer of the threat case to Union Minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari.
The NIA had earlier moved a session court with the same plea, which was rejected. Following the rejection by the local court, the NIA moved the High Court. The Nagpur Police had arrested Jayesh Pujari, who was lodged in a jail in Karnataka, in connection with the case. Later, they also apprehended one Afsar Pasha, who revealed his links with a terrorists organisation.
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The Nagpur Police had started a probe after a threat and extortion call seeking Rs 100 crore was received on January 14, 2023 at the Nagpur-based public relations office of Nitin Gadkari. Another such call was received on March 21, 2023 and the probe zeroed in on Jayesh Pujari, a convict lodged in Belagavi jail.
Earlier on March 28, Pujari was brought here and two cases were registered against him under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Dhantoli police station. Police said that a connection between Pujari and Afsar Pasha, who was involved in terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir and was also convicted in a 2012 case for recruiting operatives for the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba there, was revealed during investigation. Currently, both the accused are lodged in the Nagpur Central Jail. The case was later transferred to the NIA.
