Corporator’s murder: Crime Branch to move court seeking Arun Gawli’s arrest

The Mumbai Police Crime Branch on Friday said it would arrest gangster-turned-legislator Arun Gawli for his alleged involvement in the murder of Shiv Sena Corporator Kamlakar Jamshandekar on March 2 last year, once his police custody in a Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) case of extortion filed by a city builder ends on May 20.

Gawli’s alleged involvement in the murder was confirmed by the Crime Branch with the arrest, on Thursday, of his associate Sandeep Gangan alias Sandy, an accused in the case, said the police.

“Gawli is in police custody in the extortion case till May 20. Once his custody ends, we will move an application in court seeking his arrest in the Jamshandekar murder case. We are examining whether we should apply MCOCA in the murder case as well,” said Joint Commissioner of Police, Crime, Rakesh Maria.

Before Gangan’s arrest, the Crime Branch had already arrested nine persons in the murder case, including a former Shiv Sena corporator-turned-developer identified as Sahebrao Bintode, who was eyeing a plot of land owned by Jamshandekar. According to the Crime Branch, Jamshandekar’s murder was motivated by political rivalry and a property dispute. The Crime Branch had claimed that the murder was plotted inside Gawli’s stronghold Dagdi Chawl.

“We have arrested Gangan who played a key role in the murder of Kamlakar Jamshandekar, making him the 10th person arrested by us in the case. He used to work in Gawli’s Akhil Bharatiya Sena office as a manager. Bintode and his partner Balu Surve (arrested in the case), who wanted Jamshandekar eliminated, approached Shrikrishna Ghurav (arrested), who then took them to Pratap Godse (arrested). These four men then met Gangan in Dagdi Chawl, carrying a briefcase with Rs 30 lakh in it. Gangan took them to Gawli, after which the deal was finalised,” said Maria.

Gangan, who had been in hiding since the first arrests made by the Crime Branch in the case, was picked up from Dharavi. A police team that had been sent to his native village near Rajapur in Ratnagiri had missed him by a day.