Jailed gangster Arun Gawli acquitted in 2008 extortion case

A Mumbai court on Wednesday acquitted gangster Arun Gawli his younger brother Vijay Ahir and five of his gang members in a 2008 extortion case reported the PTIThe court stated that the prosecution failed to prove the charges against them according to the PTIGawli is serving life imprisonment for the murder of Shiv Sena leader Kamlakar Jamsandekar He is currently lodged in a Nagpur jail in MaharashtraThere were nine accused in the extortion case of which one died during the course of the trial and another turned approverThe rest including Gawli and his brother were acquitted by Special Judge B D Shelke who presides over the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act MCOCA special court in Mumbai as per the PTIA builder undertaking an SRA Slum Rehabilitation Authority redevelopment project in Dadar in 2005 had filed an extortion complaint against the Gawli gang in 2008He had alleged that Arun Gawli through his gang members demanded Rs 50 lakh to allow him to continue the redevelopment project the prosecution said the news agency reported on WednesdayThe complainant had agreed to pay Rs 10 lakshyh in instalments Between December 2005 and May 2006 he paid Rs 7 lakh to the gang said the prosecutionThe builder also claimed to have paid another Rs 1 lakh as a donation for Navratri celebrationsHe further alleged that sometime in June or July 2005 one Dinesh Narkar a coaccused in the case came to his office and assaulted himNarkar made him talk to Arun Gawlis brother Vijay Ahir who directed him to pay Rs 3 lakh to the gang member the court was toldThe builder then reported the threat to the crime branch The builder claimed that he did not file a complaint earlier due to Gawlis terror the prosecution saidDuring the investigation by the crime branch it came to light that the extortion had been committed by the members of an organised syndicate and hence the provisions of MCOCA were invoked in the case the prosecution said reported the PTIAfter going through the documents on record the court ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish iquestmuch less beyond reasonable doubtiquest that the accused were engaged in unlawful activity defined under MCOCAIn present case evidence on record clearly demonstrates that the prosecution has failed to establish the guilt of the accused for the offences punishable under Indian Penal Code for extortion the court ruled according to the PTITherefore the accused cannot be held guilty for offences under MCOCA it addedArun Gawli the founder of the Akhil Bharatiya Sena was an MLA from 20042009 from the Chinchpokli assembly seat in Mumbai and had shot into prominence from Dagdi Chawl a neighbourhood in the Byculla areaHe was arrested for the 2007 murder of Shiv Sena corporator Kamlakar Jamsandekar In August 2012 a sessions court in Mumbai sentenced him to life imprisonment in the murder casewith PTI inputsatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params