Maharashtra: Arun Gawli`s aide who jumped parole held in Navi Mumbai

A man convicted along with gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli in the 2007 Shiv Sena corporator Kamlakar Jamsandekar murder case was held from Navi Mumbai by the Mumbai Crime Branch after he jumped parole in January, a police official said on Thursday, reported the PTI.

Narendra Lalmani Giri (39) was held on Wednesday by Unit III of the Mumbai Crime Branch from Ghansoli in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, the official said, according to the PTI.

Narendra Giri, Arun Gawli and 10 others were sentenced to life imprisonment for Kamlakar Jamsandekar`s murder. Jamsandekar was shot dead at his Asalpha residence in March 2008. The police had also invoked provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in the case.

“Giri was lodged in Kolhapur central prison. He was granted parole from November 11 last year to January 30, 2024 and was supposed to come back to prison on January 31. He, however, jumped parole, after which prison authorities got a case registered at Turbhe police station in Navi Mumbai,” he said, as per the PTI.

“Giri lived in various places by changing his identity. At 11:30 pm on Wednesday, he was held in Ghansoli after we received a tip off that he would be in the area to meet someone. He was handed over to Turbhe police for further action,” the official added.

Meanwhile, in September last year, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court had granted a 28-day furlough to gangster Arun Gawli, who is serving a life sentence in the Central jail in Nagpur.

Furlough is a set period of time when a prisoner is allowed to leave a prison.

A division bench of Justice Nitin Sambre and Valmiki Menezes directed the release of Gawli on furlough for 28 days after the gangster approached the HC through his counsel Mir Nagman Ali upon the rejection of his application for relief by DIG Prisons (Nagpur).

Ali told the bench that the DIG (Prisons) had rejected Gawli`s application on the ground that since many offences were registered against the gangster-turned-politician, his release may create a law and order situation.

He said it was cited that when Gawali was released on earlier occasions, an offence was registered against his wife. Another ground cited was that Gawli`s release would affect future elections in the Mumbai civic body.

The division bench of Justice Nitin Sambre and Justice Valmiki Menezes was told that whenever Gawli was released on either parole or furlough in the past, there was no law and order issue and on every occasion he had surrendered on the due date, Ali said.

(with PTI inputs)