Gangster Arun Gawli

MUMBAI, July 23: Underworld don Arun Gawli was today remanded in judicial custody for 24-hours, even as the Maharashtra bandh call given by his political outfit Akhil Bharatiya Sena to protest against his arrest received a lukewarm response. The don was later shifted to the Thane District Central prison amid tight security.

Gawli and two of his associates were picked up from Dagdi Chawl on Tuesday after an Asian Age reporter named the don in her FIR. The reporter was attacked when she had gone to the Dagdi Chawl on an assignment. Magistrate Geeta Agarwal at the 15th Mazgaon Court turned down the police remand application seeking 14 days' custody and remanded the other two accused - Raju Philips and Suresh Dattattray Bhaskar - also to judicial custody, for 24-hours.

The court has allowed Gawli home-cooked food and also inquired about police treatment in custody. The frail don complained that he had received an injury to his right hand while being whisked away from Agripada police station to the crime branch lock-up at the police headquarter near Crawford Market.

While police prosecutor V Chambalkar said the prosecution has yet to go into the merits of the case, defence counsel Ashok Mukundrao Patil alleged that Gawli was framed in the case at the instance of some politicians. ``The Asian Age reporter never came to Dagdi Chawl and the whole episode was a political conspiracy hatched by a political party. I don't have to name the people behind the plot...the whole world knows,'' Patil said.

Gawli was escorted to Mazgaon Court around 11 am amid tight security. Entry to the court room was restricted to journalists and advocates and a strong cordon of Rapid Action Force was thrown around the court premises.

Meanwhile, today's Maharashtra Bandh called by the Akhil Bharatiya Sena passed off peacefully with minor incidents of violence reported from various parts of the city. Two drivers of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking received minor injuries when their buses were stoned by ABS activists at different places.

According to BEST sources, 11 buses were damaged at Mulund Colony, Charkop, Kandivli and Poisar. Miscreants also tried to set on fire two buses at Charkop and Dattanigram in Kandivli, but no major damage was done. No passengers were injured in these incidents.

Police officials termed the bandh as partial and said peace was maintained throughout the city under a heavy bandobast. State Reserve Police and Rapid Action Force platoons were deployed in sensitive areas.

Barring a few areas in central Mumbai like Dagdi Chawl, Byculla, Agripada, Parel, Lalbaug, Dadar and Matunga, where shops and commercial establishments remained closed, life remained unaffected in most other parts of the city. Offices, schools and other commercial establishments functioned normally, and the railways too ran uninterrupted. Total bandh was also observed in the far-eastern suburb of Kanjurmarg, said to be Gawli's main hideout.

In the rest of the city, BEST buses plied according to schedule, and autorickshaws and taxis were also on the roads in full strength.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.