Underworld Gangster Arun Gawli Granted Parole for Diwali Celebrations

Mumbai: Underworld gangster Arun Gawli will be celebrating Diwali at home, as the Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the prison authorities to release the gangster and the other accused convicted for the murder of Shiv Sena corporator Kamlakar Jamsandekar on parole for four weeks.

The Apex court on Tuesday ordered the release of all the accused who are still serving their sentence in the murder case on parole for four weeks. The court has instructed the prison authorities to release the accused on or before Friday, allowing them to celebrate Diwali on Sunday with their family and friends.

Life sentence upheld by Bombay HC in 2019

The court heard the appeal filed by the gangster and others who were sentenced to life imprisonment for their role in the murder of Jamsandekar in August 2012. The life imprisonment sentence was upheld by the Bombay High Court in 2019, following which an appeal was filed in 2020. Meanwhile, Gawli had also filed a plea for early release before the Bombay High Court at the Nagpur bench.

Jamsandekar was shot dead in March 2007 at his Asalpha residence in Ghatkopar. Gawli was arrested on May 21, 2008, and has been in custody since then.

The Mumbai police had claimed that the contract for killing Jamsandekar was allegedly given by accused Sahebrao Bhintade and Bala Surve, who were Jamsandekar's rivals in the construction business and local politics. It was also claimed that Bhintade and Surve were eyeing a plot at Saki Naka, but Jamsandekar had refused to cooperate. Gawli was paid Rs 30 lakhs to execute the murder.

Additionally, Gawli was also booked in an extortion case, the trial of which is still pending before the special MCOCA court. The appeal filed by all the accused is scheduled for a hearing in February, while his plea for early release from the prison is set for a hearing before the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court in December.