In a case of mistaken identity, a 42-year-old woman from Borivli was detained by the immigration authorities at the international airport in Mumbai on Monday evening following a Lookout Circular (LoC) was issued by the Mangalore police in 2012. The woman was detained as she shared the same name that was of the suspect mentioned in the LoC. Interestingly, the LoC also stated that the woman named is none other than wife of gangster Ravi Pujari, who turned out to false after hours of verification done by Mumbai police.
The high-voltage drama began after one Sridevi Pujari, who stays in Borivli and is a teacher, was detained by the immigration authorities after she, along with her 16-year-old son, was on her way to board a flight for Abu Dhabi on Monday evening to spend a holiday.
Ironically, the Mangalore police had issued an LoC in 2012 against one Sridevi Pujari for her alleged involvement in a case of extorting money from a businessman there. “In that case, gangster Ravi Pujari and Sridevi Pujari were shown as accused persons,” said Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria.
When the Mumbai police informed their Mangalore counterparts about the detention, the Mangalore police said that the woman detained by the airport authorities is Pujari's wife. While Sridevi, a resident of Ekta Cooperative Housing Society in Borivli, was detained by the Sahar police, her son was sent to Dongri children's home.
The Mumbai police then sent three teams to the airport for verification. An inspector working with Mumbai crime branch, who had seen Pujari's wife in 2005, was also called for verification. The inspector clearly stated that the detained woman is not Pujari's wife Padma. An assistant commissioner of police from Mumbai also stated that he know the detained woman and that she has no criminal background.
“We were told by Mangalore police that the detained woman is wife of Ravi Pujari and it was even mentioned in their LoC,” said Maria.
On Tuesday, Sridevi was produced before the Andheri metropolitan magistrate court. In the court, Sridevi's husband Santosh Pujari too was present. Later the Mangalore police also admitted that the detained Sridevi Pujari was not the one they were looking for and let her off as she was a namesake of the suspect in their case.
The Mangalore police had registered a case case against Sridevi in 2012 under Indian Penal Code sections 504 (intentional insult), 506 (criminal intimidation), 507 (criminal intimidation by an anonymous person), 384 (extortion) and 34 (common intention).
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