01 May,2009 06:20 PM IST | | PTI
Former underworld Don Ashwin Naik who spent 10 years in prison facing charges in 16 cases across the country, is now a free man.
After being acquitted by a Pune court in a murder case, Naik (47), was released from Yerwada jail two days back and was received by neighbours and his two children to a rousing welcome at his home in Chinchpokli.
"He will now lead a normal life with his children whom he missed all these years. From now on, life will be different for Ashwin, who has decided to give up the world of crime and return to mainstream," his lawyer Bharat Mane said.
An electronic engineer by qualification, Naik took over the gang run by his brother Amar Naik, who was gunned down by police in an encounter in the 1990s.
While in jail, Naik was accused of plotting to kill his wife Neeta, a corporator, whom he suspected of having an extra marital relation with her police bodyguard Laxman Ziman.
Naik, however, suffered a paralytic attack during his prison stint and is now wheelchair bound. He had 16 cases of murder, extortion and criminal assault registered against him.
During his early days as a criminal, Naik remained underground till he was first arrested by the West Bengal police on the Indo-Bangladesh border on August 1,1999. He has been in custody since then.
