Mumbai: A special MCOCA court here today
granted bail to gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli in a
case of alleged extortion filed against him by a city builder.
Gawli was arrested in April 2008 and booked under the
stringent provisions of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime
Act (MCOCA) in connection with the cases of extortion case and
murder of Shiv Sena corporator Kamlakar Jamsandiker.
Special MCOCA judge R G Awachat granted Gawli bail on a
surety of Rs 50,000 in the extortion case.
However, Gawli will continue to remain inside the Arthur
Road jail in central Mumbai as his bail plea in the murder
case is still pending before the Supreme Court.
"Gawli was granted bail on grounds of parity. Ahir and
two other accused are already out on bail in the case," his
lawyer Sanjay Mahajan said.
Gawli and seven others, including his younger brother
Vijay Ahir, have been accused of extorting money from a city
builder. According to the prosecution, the builder had earlier
also paid extortion money to Gawli but approached the police
when demands were made again after he got a slum redevelopment
project.
According to the crime branch, the accused was extorting
money from the builder from October 2005 till May 2006. The
accused had allegedly taken the builder to Dagdi Chawl, where
Gawli stays, and threatened him with dire consequences if he
failed to pay Rs 60 lakh.
PTI
First Published: Friday, July 02, 2010, 23:01