The rise and fall of Gawli, from don to leader to convict

Till his arrest, he would not allow anyone to enter his fortress, heavily guarded and protected by a 15-foot-high gate, unless his or credentials were established. Since he was arrested from that den in Byculla's Dagdi Chawl, his political might has no longer been what it was.

Arun Gawli, underworld don-turned-politician, was arrested by the Mumbai police in 2008 in a case of extortion and murder. Last week a sessions court held him guilty in this case, one of several he faces, involving the murder of Shiv Sena corporator Kamlakar Jamsandekar.

The court is expected to pronounce its sentence on him on Monday. The police plan to press for capital punishment while Gawli's lawyers say they will seek leniency on the ground that Gawli has an ailing mother and that he too is unwell.

Lodged in Arthur Road central since his arrest, Gawli has seen his Akhil Bharatiya Sena cut to size. Today it supports the Sena-BJP combine in Mumbai's municipal corporation, BMC, when its leader has been arrested for the murder of a Sena corporator.

Once, Gawli was known as daddy or a local Robin Hood among his admirers. He had been the point person for resolving any local problem. He was dreaded as a local goon in the early 1990s and even after he entered politics, his brushes with the law continued. A total of 78 people have been arrested from his gang since 2002. The final blow to his might came when he was arrested with 12 others for the murder.

A low-profile corporator, Jamsandekar had been elected for a third consecutive term from ward 152 in the 2007 Mumbai municipal elections. He was killed soon after the poll. His ward is represented in the city hall by his wife, Komal who was elected as a Sena corporator in this year's polls.

... contd.

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