Supreme Court relief to Arun Gawli in extortion case

The Supreme Court has quashed the case against gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli in an extortion case filed fir against him by a Mumbai 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 RG Awachat granted Gawli bail on a surety of Rs50,000 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.

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 Rs60 lakh.