Acting on a tip off that a notorious gangster was likely to come to a spot near Everard Nagar, the police team comprising Assistant Police Inspector Vijay Salaskar and Sub Inspector Ahire laid a trap at around 10.40 pm. They found an unidentified person coming to the spot in a suspicious manner. He was identified as Bandya Adivalekar. The police team warned him to surrender at which he opened fire at them. When police fired in retaliation, Bandya was fatally injured.

When rushed to Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Hospital he was declared dead before admission. This is the seventh encounter of the year in which nine gangsters have been killed so far.

With Bandya's elimination, the Gawli gang has been dealt a deathblow and is now virtually finished, with the exceptionof two remaining top gangsters Dilip Kulkarni alias DK and Nagesh Mohite.

Thirty-two-year old Bandya was the first in command in the Gawli gang since the don's retirement and elimination of Sada Pawle in 1997. Bandya was also amongst the ten most wanted criminals of Mumbai city and only second after Chhota Shakil aide Feroze Konkani.

According to the `Top Ten' list of gangsters released by the Crime Branch, Bandya was the main accused in at least four murder cases and 23 extortion cases.

The murder cases in which he was the prime accused were matka king Vasantlal Shah, builder Manish Shah, garment manufacturer Milap Jain and Ashwin Naik aide Mohan Birje.

Bandya started off his career as a national level kabaddi player in the streets of Byculla (West) in the early '90s. When harassed by Amar Naik goons, Bandya came to seek help from the Gawli gang, in the process he became one of them.

Bandya shot into the limelight with the killing of Bal Thackeray aide Jayant Jadhav in 1996. Since then he was onthe run with the police in hot pursuit. After the killing of Sada Pawle, Bandya had taken over the reins of the Gawli gang.

Just last week police gunned down Bandya's confidante Sharad Bandve at Borivli. The killing was followed by a massive nine-hour-long raid on the gang's hideout at Dagdi chawl early on Sunday morning. The raid was conducted by police to arrest Bandya.