Battered Gawli men trying to recoup

The gang has suffered both numerically and qualitatively. Some of its best sharpshooters and close associates of Gawli, including Ganesh Bhosale alias Vakil, Vijay Kamble alias Muchwa, Vijay Shirodkar alias Sade Teen, Lahu Angre, Nandkumar Vishwasrao alias Nandu Fighter and Ramdas Ambaokar, have been gunned down in the last few months.There is another problem. With Gawli in police custody in connection with the murder of builder Natwarlal Desai and the second-in-command Sada Pawle on the run, the gang members do not have anybody to lead them.But remedial measures are being taken. Indications are that the area commanders of the gang may soon embark on a recruiting spree. Also, youth who are currently being used as `watchers’ are likely to get promoted as shooters and provided with fire-arms.

The gang may also hike its protection fee from matka joints, illicit liquor dens and hotels in Byculla, Agripada and NM Joshi Marg areas to reassert its identity.Senior police officers said the elimination of a large number Gawli gangsters may upset the power equation in the underworld resulting in Dubai-based ganglord Dawood Ibrahim moving in to grab a lion’s share of underworld income. Another dimension to the underworld tussle is the terror-tactics of the Dubai-based Chota Shakeel-Abu Salem gangs. Their aggressive activities could well lead to a fresh round of inter-gang bloodletting. “Greater assertiveness on the part of the Gawli outfit cannot be ruled out. After all, he has led his gang from the jail for years. A few big strikes would be enough to send a signal to rival gangs,” said a police officer, who did not want to be named.

Another one bites the dust

Notorious gangster and a member of the Arun Gawli gang, Vinayak Sagritaya alias Chasmis, was killed in an encounter with the Thane police near Vartak Nagar late last night. According to police, Sagritaya (42) was shot dead by a special squad.

Acting on specific information that Sagritaya was visiting Vartak Nagar to collect protection money from a builder, the special squad laid a trap to nab him. However, when police asked Sagritaya to surrender, he opened fire. The special squad returned the fire, injuring him seriously. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead before admission, said police.

Chasmis, originally a resident of Agarbazar area in Central Mumbai, graduated to serious crime after he joined hands with Manya Surve, a dreaded gangster, and was later sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment in connection with several cases of murders and extortion. After Surve’s death in a police encounter and Chasmis’ release from jail in 1991, he joined the Arun Gawli gang and rose to the position of a hitman. The Thane police have recovered a country-made revolver from him.