The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted a 28-day furlough to murder convict Arun Gawli.
A Division Bench of Justices Z.A. Haq and N.B. Suryawanshi was hearing a petition filed by Gawli through his advocate via videoconferencing against an order of the DIG Prisons rejecting his application seeking release on furlough.
Gangster-turned-politician Gawli is serving a life sentence at Nagpur Central Jail for murdering Shiv Sena corporator Kamlakar Jamsandekar on March 2, 2007, at his residence in Ghatkopar. Gawli also served as an MLA of the Akhil Bharatiya Sena from Chinchpokli.
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On August 31, 2012, the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act court convicted him under Sections 302 (punishment for murder), 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), and 452 (house trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint) of the Indian Penal Code.
Gawli’s aides included Sunil Ghate, Suresh Patil, Pratap Godse, Sandeep alias Sandy Gangan, Shrikrishna alias Babu Gurav, Vijaykumar and Anilkumar Giri, Sahebrao Bhintade. The then joint commissioner, Rakesh Maria, and the then deputy commissioner, Deven Bharti, arrested Gurav in 2008. Gurav, was not involved in the murder, but gave vital information to the police and Gangan turned an approver. The police managed to get the duo to record their confession statements against Gawli.
The Mumbai Police then established that Jamsandekar’s rival realtors Bhintade and Bala Surve had paid Gawli ₹30 lakh to kill the corporator over a land dispute.
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