Mahesh Bhatt deposes in court, reveals details of threat calls from Ravi Pujari gang

Mumbai: Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt deposed in the special court for Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act here on Wednesday in a trial of members of the Ravi Pujari gang who are accused of plotting to kill him and his family members.

Special Public Prosecutor Pradeep Gharat said Bhatt deposed as a witness and supported the prosecution's case.

He told the court that he had been receiving threatening calls from the gang, Gharat said.

The Mumbai Police had arrested over a dozen men of the Pujari gang, some of them also involved in a firing outside the residence of Bollywood film producers Karim and Ali Morani in 2014, before the plot could be executed.

According to the prosecution, Pujari, said to be living abroad, wanted to revive the activities of his gang in Mumbai by targeting Bhatt or his brother Mukesh, also a filmmaker, or Bhatt's son Rahul.

The gangster wanted to target the Morani brothers for obtaining overseas rights of the film 'Happy New Year', while Bhatt was to be targeted for simply creating sensation, police said.

So far, 45 witnesses have been examined in the trial, Gharat said.