The underworld don-turned-politician was convicted in more than 40-odd cases including murder and extortion
For four long decades, Arun Gawli managed to escape from thelong arms of law, but was finally convicted. His real story is like a reel-story– like the proverbial law-breaker to law-maker and the Robinhood of DagdiChawl.
Arun Gawli alias Arun Gulab Ahir alias Daddy, who ran hisnetwork from the Dagdi Chawl in the Byculla-Saat Raasta area of south-centralMumbai, had so far a record of not being convicted in any case. He has beenbooked in more than 40-odd cases including murder, attempt to murder andextortion, but had never faced jail though he had spent several years indifferent jails of Maharashtra as an under trial. This is the only case inwhich he was sentenced.
Such was his clout in the area that in the 2004 elections tothe Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, he was elected as a legislator from theChinchpokli constituency. He was arrested in this case in 2008, while he was asitting MLA. In the late nineties, afterhis release, he entered politics and formed Akhil Bharatiya Sena (ABS).However, after his political ambitions came to be known, several of hisassociates died in encounters with police.
While the Gandhi-cap sporting Gawli is reverred by hisfollowers as Daddy, his wife Asha Gawli is known as Mummy.
Incidentally, his daughter Geeta Gawli and sister-in-lawVandana Gawli are corporators in the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
He entered the gangland in the eighties and was initiallyassociated with underworld kingpin Dawood Ibrahim, but later split with him inthe mid-nineties and formed his own gang extorting money from builders andbusinessmen. Before joining the D-company, he worked for the Rama Naik gang.
While Dawood, Chhota Rajan, Chhota Shakeel, Abu Salempreferred to flee India and run its operations from other parts of the world,Gawli remained in India and often faced cases after cases. While Dawood andShakeel operate from Pakistan, Rajan runs his empire from South East Asia andSalem was extradited from Portugal in 2005. Gawli, however, dreaded late VijaySalaskar the most. Salaskar, an encounter-specialist, was martyred during the26/11 terror attacks.
Prior to 2008 – often in and out of jail – he used to runhis "durbar" from the Dagdi Chawl. The building in which he stays ishighly-secured and has all the facilities that people in skyrise buildingswould envy.
His family has migrated from Madhya Pradesh, and after ClassV, he dropped out of school and used to sell milk and later worked in a mill,but took to crime later. He was first arrested in 1986 on charges of murder.The Gawli gang also emilinated Ibrahim Parkar, the brother-in-law of Dawood. Healso killed Jayant Jadhav, one of the close confidante of the Thackerays.
On August 31, the Mumbai Police got what it has been waitingfor the last 30 years. Underworld don-turned-politician Arun Gawli, the onlyresident don of this commercial capital - whose network spreads acrossMaharashtra and some neighbouring States, was convicted and sentenced for life.
This came not only as a blow to Gawli gang, but also sends astrong message to the overseas-based dons like Dawood Ibrahim, Chhota Shakeel,Chhota Rajan and others. The message is – gangsters are no longer safe inMumbai and cops would go all out to secure their conviction.
Gawli was jailed for life for murder of Shiv Sena corporatorKamlakar Jamsandekar in March 2008. This is for the first time that Gawli hasbeen convicted and sentenced - in any case. The murder of Jamsandekar was acase of contract killing and the Gawli-gang was paid Rs 30 lakh for the murder.
Additional Sessions Judge P C Chavan, who presided over asspecial Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court, also imposeda fine of Rs 17 lakh on Gawli, who is the President of Akhil Bharatiya Sena anda former MLA.
Judge Chavan also sentenced 10 others in the case to lifeimprisonment - while another accused was sentenced to three years rigorousimprisonment for being convicted under Arms Act.
While pronouncing the sentence, Judge Chavan said:"Instead of death I am giving you life imprisonment."
On August 24, the former MLA and 11 others were found guiltyof murdering Jamsandekar in April 2008. According to police, the contract forkilling Jamsandekar was given by Sahebrao Bhintade and Bala Surve, who werereportedly the Sena corporator's rivals in construction business and localpolitics. Crime Branch had said theother reason why Jamsandekar was killed was that Bintade and Surve were eyeinga plot at Saki Naka in suburban Mumbai and the corporator reportedly"refused to cooperate".
Midway through his first term as an MLA, Gawli was arrestedin April 2008 under MCOCA in connection with the murder of Sena corporatorJamsandekar. He was later trounced in the 2009 Assembly poll by Congress’ MadhuChavan, the same man whom he had defeated in the 2004 poll.
