04 November,2010 06:46 AM IST | | J Dey
Prakash Pandey, aka Bunty, notorious for extorting money from businessmen, was arrested in Vietnam yesterday; expected to be brought to India today
Businessmen in the city heaved a sigh of relief after the news spread last night that gangster Bunty Pandey was arrested.
Born Prakash Pandey, Bunty, as he is known in underworld circles, is wanted in over a dozen cases of murder and extortion, including the murder of clearing and forwarding agent Ruju Pillai at Sahar in 1999.
Bunty was arrested at Hanoi, Vietnam, following a red corner notice (see box) by Interpol. He is expected to be flown to the country in the wee hours today.
There was hectic activity in the Crime Branch of the Mumbai Police as sleuths were preparing to present a watertight case against the gangster who has been terrorising businessmen in the city for the past decade.
Rise in crime
Bunty rose to the upper echelons of Mumbai's underworld when he formed his own gang after breaking away from mentor Chhota Rajan in 2000.
His key associate, Priya Rajput, was soon arrested by the Crime Branch. This was followed with the arrest of other members of the gang.
Bunty soon shifted his base from Kathmandu to Bangkok in Thailand. Sources revealed that some of Bunty's extortion targets had to visit the Thai capital to pay him protection money.
Police sources also informed that members of the Chhota Rajan gang, whom he had antagonised by forming a rival gang, were baying for his blood.
He was left with little choice but to approach rival Chhota Shakeel for money and protection. It is reported that Shakeel had assigned him some task before he was to be inducted in the gang.
Bunty's interrogation will throw light on how gangsters have been calling the shots from overseas hideouts. Some of his henchmen in the city will be identified.
Brushes with law
Pandey is hailed as Mumbai's 36th most wanted person and hails from Uttarakhand.
> In 1995, he shot to fame when his name came up in the murder of East-West Airlines chief Thakiyudeen Wahid.
> Pandey was present in Bangkok when Chhota Rajan was attacked by gun men in the late 90s.
> He also claims to have allegedly threatened actor Shah Rukh Khan. However Mumbai cops have rubbished his claim.
> He was allegedly involved in the murder of Navi Mumbai corporator Devidas Chougule in 2008.
What is Red Corner notice?
It is one of the ways in which Interpol informs its 186 member countries that an arrest warrant has been issued for an individual by a judicial authority.
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For Indian nationals, a red corner notice is actually "a spot out device on the immigration computer".
When a passenger checks in or checks out of India at the international immigration counter, the moment the passengers passport number is fed in "a red flag appears" beside it to alert the immigration officer that this person is wanted by the police in any city in India.
