Arun Gawli booked under MCOCA: remanded till May 14

Mumbai, Apr 29 (UNI) The police today booked Arun Gawli, gangster-turned politician, under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

Gawli, a member of the state Legislative Assembly and president of the Akhil Bhartiya Sena, had earlier been arrested for his involvement in an extortion case.

Speaking to reporters here, Joint commissioner of police (crime) Rakesh Maria said this afternoon, Gawli was presented in the Sessions court, which has remanded him to police custody till May 14.

''Gawli, after being found guilty in an extortion case, was arrested. Then police officials gathered evidences against him and prepared a watertight case against the former don,'' he said.

Before Gawli's arrest, his brother Vijay Ahire was arrested by the Mumbai police for his role in the extortion case along with his associates, after which Gawli was arrested for his role in the crime.

''We have evidence against Gawli of his involvement in the crime. He chalked out the plan and received a big part of the extortion money,'' Mr Maria said.

Earlier, when Gawli was arrested, the police had recovered more than 300 property documents from his residence, and they are investigating the source of the documents.

Police sources said Gawli had demanded extortion money from the builders based on their projects and the rates were fixed per square foot of the construction.

The complainant in this case is a builder based in Central Mumbai, who had paid Gawli extortion money on many occasions and lodged a complaint after the demands increased. He was developing a slum rehabilitation (SRA) project in Prabhadevi in Central Mumbai last year.

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