10 Facts About Notorious Mobster Arun Gawli

10 Facts About Notorious Mobster Arun Gawli

Arun Gawli is a former Indian mafia boss turned politician, now retired from the world of crime. He was one of the most notorious underworld dons back in the 1970s and 1980s, leading the Byculla Company gang. The latter operated most of central Mumbai, carrying out diverse criminal activities including extortion, smuggling, and murder. Gawli later turned to politics and formed the Akhil Bharatiya Sena political party in the mid-1990s. He undertook social work during his tenure, and for that, he is fondly remembered. Gawli’s life has been nothing short of cinematic, having had a taste of the underworld as a mafia don, and serving his community as a politician. Here are 10 facts about Arun Gawli.

Read more on; 20 Most Famous Gangsters of all time.

1. Gawli was born into a family of mill workers

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He was born on 17 July 1955 in the Ahmednagar district, present-day Maharashtra. Growing up, he worked in Mumbai’s textile mills just like most of the youths did at the time. These mills were located in the central areas of Parel, Byculla, Chinchpokli, and Cotton Green.

2. He entered the world of crime as a petty thief

The majority of the youth relied on work from the textile mills in Mumbai, Gawli included. However, the textile industry suffered mass strikes and lock-outs from the 1970s to the late 1980s. This was a challenging time for the employees who now had to turn to other sources of livelihood amidst the chaos. With most becoming unemployed, many youths figured they could get fast money through Matka gambling. Gawli was among these, in addition to petty theft. Matka gambling involved betting on the opening and closing rates of cotton from the New York Cotton Exchange to the Bombay Cotton Exchange.

3. He joined the Byculla Company gang

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Before long, Gawli started getting involved with more criminal activity, culminating in joining the Byculla Company gang. This was one of the major gangs in central Mumbai at the time, and it carried out several criminal activities including running illegal liquor dens. It was led by gangsters Babu Reshim and Rama Naik. Arun Gawli rose through the ranks fast, becoming one of the top leaders. The gang became known as the BRA gang, from the first initials of each of its leaders. Gawli earned his underworld moniker as DADDY.

4. He became the gang boss after the leader’s death

After two of the leaders of the Byculla Company gang died, that is Rama Naik and Babu Reshim, Arun Gawli was left to lead. Rama Naik was killed by his bodyguard Buwa. Gawli became the first Marathi gang leader in Mumbai’s underworld. Under his leadership, the gang became one of the most popular ones in Mumbai, taking over most of the crime in the central areas of the city.  His right-hand man was Ajit Lawand, and he wielded considerable influence over Satara and Pune. Gawli became popular in Pune because of Lawand, one of the top gangsters in the area at the time.

Read more on; 20 Most Famous Indian Gangsters.

5. He operated from the Dagdi Chawl

Dagdi Chwal was a former residence in Byculla, Mumbai, for the majority of the mill workers in the neighboring factories. Gawli fortified it and made it his resident and operation base for his gang. Upon discovery by the Mumbai police, the Dagdi Chwal was raided numerous times in an attempt to capture Gawli. Eventually, Gawli was arrested several times and detained awaiting trial but was never convicted for lack of sufficient evidence. This is because most of the witnesses feared retaliation for testifying again.

6. His gang had a rivalry with Dawood’s gang

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Dawood Ibrahim is a notorious mobster, drug kingpin, and terrorist in Mumbai’s underworld, and the leader of the D-Company gang. He formed the gang in the late 1970s, and under his leadership, D-Company became one of the major crime syndicates in the region. Rival wars with other gangs were inevitable, and Gawli’s gang was one of the main opponents of Dawood’s D-Company. Throughout the 1980s, an intense power struggle existed between the two.

Check out the Top 10 Facts about Mobster Dawood Ibrahim.

7. He joined politics in the 1980s

Gawli first attained political patronage in the 1980s from the then Sena chief, Bal Thackeray. Thackeray was a politician and founder of the Shiv Sena, a Hindu nationalist political party mostly active in Maharashtra. He once criticized Mumbai police for their brutal actions against Hindu gangsters such as Arun Gawli and Sai Bansod, referring to them as ‘our boys’. Gawli and Thackeray thus became close allies until a feud in 1996 ended their alliance. Gawli killed several members of the Sena party and some associates of Thackeray. He left to form a separate political party.

8. He founded the Akhil Bharatiya Sena political party in 1997

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After Gawli and Thackeray fell out in 1996, Gawli formed a separate political party. This was the Akhil Bharatiya Sena. In 2002, the party’s candidate, Sunil Ghate defeated the rival Shiv Sena candidate in the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation elections. In 2004, Gawli got 26.5% of the votes in Mumbai South Central during the Lok Sabha (lower house) elections. Gawli was elected that same year in the Maharashtra state assembly elections. His daughter Geeta won a seat in the 2007 Mumbai City Council elections. Gawli’s political strength was dealt a great blow when his fellow party member and nephew, Sachin Ahir left camp to join the Nationalist Congress Party.

Have a look at the 20 Most Famous Indian Canadian Politicians.

9. He has been featured in film works

Gawli has inspired several film works. In the Netflix Series, Sacred Games, the lead character Ganesh Gaitonde is loosely based on Arun Gawli, while Isa is based on Dawood Ibrahim. The Series is based on Vikram Chandra’s best-selling novel. The 2017 Hindu film, Daddy, is based on the life of Gawli. Actor Arjun Rampal plays the role. In Dadgi Chawl, a 2015 Marathi movie, Makarand Deshpande’s character is based on Arun’s life.

10. He was arrested for murder in 2012

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Arun Gawli was arrested and finally convicted of the murder of the Shiv Sena political party leader, Kamlakar Jamsandekar in August 2012. He had been charged alongside eleven others, and all were found guilty of the murder. Gawli was sentenced to life imprisonment and is currently in jail. His popularity in Mumbai hasn’t died out yet despite his conviction, and some of his supporters believe that he was framed.