Gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli walked out of the jail on Wednesday after spending over 17 years behind the bars, officials said.
Gawli walked out of the Nagpur Central Jail after the Supreme Court granted him bail in a 2007 murder case. The 76-year-old was serving life imprisonment for the murder of Mumbai Shiv Sena corporator kamlakar jamsandekar.
“After the completion of all legal formalities of the prisons department, Gawli came out of the jail around 12.30 pm,” officials said.
Arun Gawli, 76, was serving life imprisonment at the Nagpur Central Jail for the alleged murder of Mumbai Shiv Sena corporator Kamlakar Jamsandekar.
Hearing the case, a bench of Justices MM Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh observed that Gawli was behind the bars for 17 years already and an appeal was pending before it since then, basis which the bail was granted. The judges also pointed out the old age of the ex-MLA of the Maharashtra Assembly as grounds for bail.
“Admittedly, the appellant has been under incarceration for 17 years and three months. We also take note of the fact that he is 76 years old,” the bench said.
While granting the bail, the top court noted that it was subject to terms and conditions imposed by the trial court.
As he walked out of the Nagpur Central Jail, Arun Gawli was welcomed by his family members, lawyer and supporters.
What is the case Arun Gawli was in jail for?
Arun Gawli was booked under the provisions of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in 1999.
Gawli was arrested and underwent a trial in 2006 for the murder of Jamsandekar. In August 2012, the Sessions Court in Mumbai sentenced him to life imprisonment in the murder case. It had also imposed a ₹17 lakh fine on the former gangster.
Gawli disease and 11 others were arrested in 2006 and tried for the murder of Jamsandekar. Police had at the time submitted a 138-page chargesheet to prove the case against him.
Arun Gawli shot into prominence from Dagdi Chawl, a neighbourhood of Byculla, and is the founder of the Akhil Bharatiya Sena.
He was an MLA from 2004-2009 from the Chinchpokli seat of Mumbai.
In May, he was acquitted by a Mumbai court in a 2008 extortion case, which held that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges against him.