MUMBAI, August 11: A day after Akhil Bharatiya Sena (ABS) chief organiser Ramdas Ambaokar was killed at his Lal Baug residence, police continue to be clueless about the killers' identity. Ambaokar was shot dead by three unidentified men early on Sunday morning.

His funeral was attended by over a thousand ABS followers today. However, their leader and ABS founder, Arun Gawli, was conspicuous by his absence. The pyre was lit at about 3 pm by Ambaokar's elder son Ganesh.

None of the ABS activists Express Newsline spoke to were willing to speculate on the identity of the killers. All they would say was that it could be a politically motivated murder.

Senior police officers, however, think that it was an inside job. Citing eyewitness accounts, they say the assailants were heard telling Ambaokar's wife and son Ganesh that they had come from VT or sent by VT. Police say they probably were referring to Vijay Tandel, a close aide Gawli.

``These days there is a trend in the underworld to address gangsters by their initials,'' said a senior officer, who did not want to be named.Underworld sources say the murder could be the handiwork of the Chota Shakeel faction, which wanted to finish off Ambaokar because he was Gawli's legal advisor. Others suspect Ashwin Naik's hand in the murder.

Deputy commissioner of police (Zone II) Param Bir Singh told Express Newsline that Ambaokar used to handle court matters related to the Gawli gang. He would hire advocates, arrange for gangsters' bail and keep track of their court dates.

Ambaokar tried to make a switch from gangland activities to politics by contesting the February municipal elections from ward no 31 as an ABS candidate. However, he lost. He played a vital role in setting up ABS shakhas across the state. Police sources said he was arrested with Arun Gawli and Rajesh Popat Pawar in 1992 for abducting Farzum Boman Faramjee, owner of Hotel White House, Tardeo.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.