Mumbai: In a major setback for gangster Arun Gawli, the Bombay High Court on Monday upheld his conviction under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). The HC has also upheld the rigorous life imprisonment imposed on Gawli.
A bench of Justices Bhushan Dharmadhikari and Swapna Joshi was dealing with the criminal appeals filed by Gawli and 11 others, challenging the August 2012 verdict of a special MCOCA court.
“The bench has confirmed the sentence and conviction of Gawli and others under the MCOCA law. However, the judges have acquitted four other assailants from the MCOCA charge,” confirmed advocate Ganesh Gole, who represents Gawli.
“We are not aware of the reasoning of the bench for dismissing our appeals. We will be soon moving the Supreme Court once the order copy is made available,” Gole added.
The special court had awarded life imprisonment to Gawli and others for killing Shiv Sena corporator Kamlakar Jamsandekar.
The former lawmaker, Gawli, was convicted by the special court for accepting the contract to kill Jamsandekar. The contract for killing Jamsandekar, as per the prosecution, was given by Sahebrao Bhintade and Bala Surve, who were allegedly his rivals both in the construction business and in city politics.
The special court, in its 2012 verdict had accepted the prosecution version that Jamsandekar was killed at the behest of Gawli.
According to the prosecution case, Gawli and his men were given Rs 30 lakh for killing the Sena corporator. The murder was committed over a land deal in suburban Mumbai.
In March 2007, Jamsandekar, a popular politician from Asalpha, Andheri was shot dead point-blank by four assailants. The Byculla police, which was initially probing the case, could only arrest a few persons, however, the probe caught up the pace when the city’s crime branch was tasked with the investigation.
The then joint commissioner, Rakesh Maria had come across certain evidence, which led the probe team to Gawli and he was subsequently arrested.
This is probably the first case of his over two dozen cases, wherein Gawli has been prosecuted by a court.
