MUMBAI, February 6: The daylight killing of stock broker-turned-builder Manish Shah was actually a masterstroke by the ganglord Arun Gawli, currently behind bars and Gawli had actually killed two birds with one stroke, said a senior police officers. An IPS officer said, Gawli probably thinks that the police cannot implicate him in the murder since he is under detention and at the same time, will be able to wield his clout among Mumbai's businessmen and builders.Shah, a business partner of the slain builder Vallabhai Thakkar, was shot dead on Thursday at Walkeshwar Junction. This is not an isolated case. The Gawli gang has the dubious distinction of finishing off 11 builders in last one year to terrorise them including Vallabh Thakkar and Natwarlal Desai, who were killed by Gawli shooters late last year. Zone II police officer API Prafful Bhosale explained that the Gawli gang had suffered a major setback after top shooter Sada Pawle alias Mama was killed in police encounter while another top shooterSunil Ghate surrendered, added Bhosale.
"The gang is in a financial mess after Sada Pawle's killing. Money was insufficient to run the gang operations," averred API Vijay Salaskar, the man who shot Pawle.
This is the fourth shootout in one month involving the Gawli gang and has spread a new wave of terror among the city's businessmen and builders. The outfit is also suspected of killing Dinesh Jathar, Ashwin Naik's close aide on January 9 at Tardeo and Jayant Jinjire, a Shiv sainik from Lalbaug on January 16, '98.
Also, the gang is believed to be behind the killing of matka king Kalyanjibhai Bhagat Shah's son Vasantlal at Worli on January 11. The assailants had pumped 14 rounds in his body.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
