March 6: Underworld don Arun Gawli's wife Asha was arrested this afternoon after the Malabar Hill police raided the Dagdi Chawl and found incriminating evidence linking her to a murder that took place last month.Asha Gawli has been named co-conspirator in builder Manish Shah's murder after the police laid their hands on documents linking her to the murder. Shah was shot dead near his Malabar Hill house when three assailants pumped seven bullets into his body on February 5.The police now believe that Asha was carrying messages relating to the killing from Amravati jail, where her husband was lodged, and that she was also instrumental in ensuring that the orders were carried out, the police alleged.Also found among the incriminating documents were Voluntary Disclosure Income Scheme (VDIS) certificates indicating that the Gawli had invested more than Rs 1 crore in recent months. The money has been gotten from underworld dealings, claim the police.Zonal deputy commissioner of police, Param Bir Singh,confirmed that Income Tax certificates of more than Rs 22 lakh have been seized from Gawli's residence. Though the source of income has been shown as sale of jewellery and property, it is suspected that the money was from underworld activities, added Singh.A strong posse from the Malabar Hill police station raided Dagdi Chawl between 2.30 and 3 pm on Friday. The raids were carried out after Gawli spilled the beans during interrogations on Asha's involvement in Shah murder case, the police added.According to sources in the police department, Gawli also revealed the name of the assailants who were believed to have carried out Shah's killing. They have been identified as Raja Jadhav, Bandya Adhivadekar, Sanjay Vichare and Temba Babu.``The plot was hatched between January 20-25 and the Roge brothers, Sunil and Bala, were keeping a watch on Shah's movements before they led the shooters to the victim. The duo has gone underground since the day of the killing,'' said investigating officer PrafulBhosale.Investigations reveal that the Gawli gang was demanding about Rs 7 crore from slain builder Vallabh Thakkar and his then associate Manish Shah as contribution to a Seva trust in the Gamdevi area. When the builders refused to pay up due to the recession in the real estate industry, the don ordered the killing.Thakkar had been earlier shot dead by Gawli's aide Sada Pawle at Mahalaxmi on April 17 last year. Another theory is that the Shah-Thakkar duo wanted to evict one of Gawli's relatives from a plot at Gamdevi, which the builders wanted to develop. The don had asked the builders to keep away from his relatives but they allegedly refused.
