By IANS,
Mumbai : A special Mumbai court Friday sentenced mafia don-turned-politician Arun Gawli and 11 of his associates to life imprisonment in the 2007 murder of Shiv Sena corporator Kamlakar Jamsandekar.
Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) Special Judge Prithviraj Chavan, who had found Gawli and 11 others guilty in the case last Friday, delivered the final verdict.
Dressed in white and sporting his trademark white Gandhi cap, Gawli, who has been behind bars since 2008, heard the verdict quietly with a wry smile on his face.
Jamsandekar was killed outside his home in Asalpha area of Ghatkopar in northeast Mumbai following a dispute in a land matter.
This is the first conviction for Gawli, a mafia don-turned politician who was elected legislator from 2004 to 2009.
Reacting to the judgment, Jamsandekar’s widow Komal expressed happiness that “justice had been finally done”.
The special court had acquitted three people in the case for lack of evidence. One of the accused, Bala Surve, died in July this year.
Demanding the death penalty for Gawli and three other accused, the prosecution led by Raja Thakre contended that the contract to kill Jamsandekar had been allegedly given to Gawli by Bala Surve and Sahebrao Bhintale, who had a business and political rivalry with the Sena leader. Bhintale was also sentenced to life.
Police contended that Jamsandekar was eliminated as he refused to cooperate with Surve and Bhintale for a deal involving a prime plot in Saki Naka in northeastern Mumbai.
The prosecution argued that Jamsandekar was killed at Gawli’s behest for Rs.3 million. Gawli had taken the contract and the other co-accused had conspired in the murder case, it added.