After 17 years, gangster Gawli walks out of jail as SC grants bail in murder case

After spending more than 17 years in prison, gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli was released from Nagpur Central Jail on Wednesday, 3 September, following a recent Supreme Court decision granting him bail in a 2007 murder case, according to officials.

Gawli (76) is serving a life sentence for the killing of Mumbai Shiv Sena corporator Kamlakar Jamsandekar. The Supreme Court, while hearing his case, took note of his prolonged incarceration and the fact that his appeal is still pending. Bail was granted by a bench comprising Justices M.M. Sundresh and N. Kotiswar Singh.

"After the completion of all legal formalities of the prisons department, Gawli came out of the jail around 12.30 pm," an official said. Family members, legal representatives, and supporters were present outside the prison to receive him.

Gawli was charged under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). The Supreme Court’s bail approval includes compliance with the terms and conditions laid down by the trial court.

The former legislator had earlier appealed the 9 December 2019 judgment by Bombay High Court, which had upheld the trial court's decision sentencing him to life imprisonment.

Gawli rose to prominence from Dagdi Chawl in Byculla and went on to establish the Akhil Bharatiya Sena. He served as an MLA from Chinchpokli in Mumbai between 2004 and 2009.

His life sentence was handed down by a Mumbai sessions court in August 2012, which also imposed a fine of Rs 17 lakh.

Gangster's rise to infamy

Gawli, once a prominent figure in Mumbai’s underworld, has had a life marked by crime, power, and political reinvention. Emerging from the serpentine lanes of Byculla, Gawli began his criminal career in the 1970s as a mill worker before joining the ranks of organised crime.

He was initially associated with the notorious Byculla gang, which later clashed with other dominant crime syndicates, including Dawood Ibrahim’s D-Company.

Gawli built his own gang and became known for extortion, contract killings, and protection rackets across Mumbai. Unlike many gangsters who operated from abroad, Gawli remained rooted in his stronghold at Dagdi Chawl, which became both his base of operations and a symbol of his influence.

In a dramatic turn, Gawli entered politics in the late 1990s, projecting himself as a 'local saviour' of Marathi-speaking communities. He founded the Akhil Bharatiya Sena and was elected as an MLA from Chinchpokli in 2004. His political image, however, couldn’t fully distance him from his criminal past.

His most serious conviction came in 2012, when he was sentenced to life imprisonment for the 2007 murder of Jamsandekar. The court held that the killing was a contract hit, with Gawli acting as the mastermind.

Despite his time spent in prison, Gawli continues to command loyalty in pockets of Mumbai, where he is still seen by some as a Robin Hood-like figure.

With PTI inputs