MUMBAI, November 11: After two-and-a-half-months of custody, underworld don Arun Gawli and four other gangsters, including Sada Pawle and Ganesh Bhosale who were killed in encounters, have been formally charge-sheeted in the Natwarlal Desai murder case.

The charge-sheet bearing court case N0 578/P came up for hearing today in Esplanade Court, with Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate N B Pokarkar ordering that Gawli be produced before him on November 18. While Gawli has been mentioned as prime accused, his hitmen Namdeo Hari Patil alias Namya and Sharad Damodar Bandve, who were allegedly involved in carrying out the killing, have also been named.

The filing of the charge-sheet took place after questioning 25 witnesses. The police, however, still haven't recovered the weapon with which the crime was committed.

Builder Natwarlal Mohanlal Desai was gunned down in broad daylight in front of his office at Tulsiani Chambers, Nariman Point, on August 19, when three assailants pumped six rounds into his body and quickly disappeared from the scene of the crime. The police recovered a notebook which had Sada Pawle's name and a contact number mentioned in it. Pawle was a key associate of Gawli.

Gawli was arrested the following day after a special squad from Nagpada and Agripada police station burst into the Dagdi Chawl. He has now been booked under the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act (MPDA) and is currently lodged in Amravati jail.

Police believe Gawli to be the key conspirator in the plot, while Ganesh Bhosale and Sharad Bandve have been charged with executing the plan. Pawle is alleged to have masterminded the entire operation.

During interrogations, it was revealed that Desai had earlier visited Dagdi Chawl in connection with the payment of extortion money.

Desai also had telephonic talks with Pawle before he was gunned down, the police said.

Pawle was killed in a bloody encounter with the police in Ghatkopar on September 26, and his associate Bhosale, who is also named in the case, was shot dead by assistant police inspector Vijay Salaskar and his men near Mankhurd on August 21 this year. Sharad Bandve and Namdeo Patil are still absconding.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.