That day, life changed for a Pune village. Till then Wadgaon Panchpir, a village near Manchar on the Pune-Nashik road, was far away from cellphones and zooming cars. But on Monday, the gangster-turned-politician chose Wadgaon Panchpir, his in-law's village, for life after Mumbai.

Thrown out of Mumbai and Thane limits, Arun Gawli (45) and his men headed straight for Wadgaon Panchpir. With his rivals in the underworld gunning for him, Gawli could think of no safer place than the village which is a few hours from Mumbai where he still runs a small kingdom.

Gawli and more than 100 young men, each claiming to be a member of his Akhil Bharatiya Sena, are camping at and around the two-storey house his father-in-law Shaikh Mujavar hasbuilt. Now that's where all lanes lead to.

The villagers have never seen so many policemen together. They have never seen so many vehicles in their village. And so many strangers.

``Arun Gawli is the son-in-law of the village. In 1983, he married the daughter of one of us. We don't know him well because he hardly visited us earlier. But we are all attached to his wife. And we have always thought of him as one of us,'' says a villager.

But the man who has had them all curious seems a little bored. Relaxing in a Tommy Hilfiger t-shirt and cradling a cellphone, Gawli grumbles: ``All that I do throughout the day is meet people who have accompanied me. I am up and about by 7 am. And the entire day, I am chatting with my supporters. I rarely get to speak to my wife and children as they always have other women for company. I have already requested the Home Secretary for a status quo on externment. I hope he allows me to return to Mumbai by March 1.''

Gawli says: ``Here I am not as safe as I was in Mumbai.The Government has thrown me out of Mumbai because it gives my rivals a chance to go after me. How can I operate from here? You can remain active and become a politician only if you are alive.''

His boys have fortified the compound on their own, fixing barbed wires atop the wall. But outside Mujavar's house, the policemen look busy. They have been posted at all vantage points in the village and told to keep details about every person who comes visiting Gawli.

The dhaba owners on the roads to Khed and Manchar are happy. Suddenly there is more business with the policemen and Gawli's men around, throughout the day.

Gawli has been externed from Mumbai for two years under Section 56 A of the Bombay Police Act for his involvement in extortion, intimidation and murder. Police say there are at least three instances when victims have failed to lodge complaints for fear of reprisal.

Gawli's externment follows an inquiry instituted by Assistant Commissioner of Police (Nagpada division), L M Dutraj, who submittedhis report on December 30, 1998.

Gawli had challenged the externment proceedings in the Bombay High Court. However, his writ petition urging the court to quash the proceedings was rejected by Judge Vishnu Sahai on February 4. Gawli, who was initiated to the underworld in 1980, has since been named in at least 20 serious offences, including murder.