Nagpur Court Convicts LeT Terrorist, Gangster In Nitin Gadkari Extortion Threat Case

Last Updated:May 16, 2026, 10:12 IST

Afsar Pasha, a LeT operative, and gangster Jayesh Pujari, who had earlier raised pro-Pakistan slogans, were convicted for allegedly threatening Nitin Gadkari for extortion.

Afsar Pasha, a Lashkar-e-Taiba operative, and gangster Jayesh Pujari alias Shakir, who had earlier raised pro-Pakistan slogans, were on Friday convicted by a Nagpur court for allegedly threatening Union minister Nitin Gadkari for extortion.

The collusion between the two accused has once again raised concerns around local organised criminal gangs and their terrorist counterparts sitting outside the country.

It was in January 2023 that Gadkari’s staff at his Sitabuldi area office in Nagpur received multiple calls threatening to blow up the office if a sum of Rs 100 crore was not delivered in Karnataka.

Police immediately took up the investigation, and it was found that the threats had been issued by jailed gangster Jayesh Pujari from Hindalga Central Prison in Belagavi, where he was lodged. The probe further revealed that Pujari had carried out the task at the behest of Afsar Pasha, a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative who is believed to have masterminded the Mangaluru cooker blast case of 2022.

On Friday, a Nagpur special court of the Additional Sessions Judge and Special Judge under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, presided over by Anil Kumar Sharma, convicted both the accused in the Rs 100 crore extortion case.

The court convicted the duo for offences punishable under the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, awarding them rigorous imprisonment along with fines.

The 2023 threat and extortion attempt had once again sent shockwaves across the country, exposing the ongoing nexus between organised criminal gangs and terrorists.

India’s premier anti-terror agency, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), has also previously searched multiple locations across states in connection with the terrorist-gangster nexus.

News india Nagpur Court Convicts LeT Terrorist, Gangster In Nitin Gadkari Extortion Threat Case

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