Arun Gawli arrives in Mumbai for mother's funeral

The last rites of Gangster Arun Gawli's mother were performed at the Reay Road crematorium on Monday evening by Gawli after he arrived in the city from Nagpur Central Jail.

His mother Laxmi (82) died of interstitial lung disease and a prolonged illness, at Jaslok Hospital on Saturday evening.

Over thousands of people, including former close associates of the gangster, politicians and his supporters had gathered for the funeral to condole the death of Gawli's mother.

Gawli was granted parole on Thursday in light of his mother's ill health and was due to be released on Sunday. However, it got delayed due to some formalities.

The body of the mother was preserved in Jaslok Hospital until Gawli arrived.

Meanwhile, police security was tightened at Gawli's residence Dagdi Chawl in Agripada, considering the arrival of over thousand people.

A source close to Gawli said several former gang members of the Gawli gang too visited the family after the mother passed away on Saturday. "While most of the gang members are already lodged in jail, others who have now shifted to other cities, visited the family, and some had also come to attend the funeral," he said.

Gawli, is serving a life sentence for the 2007 murder of Shiv Sena corporator Kamalakar Jamsandekar. Gawli and 11 others were convicted in 2012 for the offence, and it was the first conviction against Gawli, who has had a long list of criminal cases against him.