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This is an archive article published on June 28, 1997

Gawli spreading tentacles

PUNE, June 27: The city's days of peace appears numbered with Mumbai's reigning don Arun Gawli planning to set up base here in a big way. T...

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PUNE, June 27: The city’s days of peace appears numbered with Mumbai’s reigning don Arun Gawli planning to set up base here in a big way. The Pune police today launched a thorough probe to identify the don’s contacts in the city following information that at least 25 units of Gawli’s political arm, the Akhil Bharatiya Sena (ABS), will be coming up in the city and neighbouring industrial township of Pimpri-Chinchwad, the first of which as early as next month.

According to top police sources seeking absolute anonymity, the secret probe into the activities of all labour leaders with dubious background was ordered after the Special Branch of Pune police force received `reliable’ information on Gawli’s plan for the city. Gawli, who floated the ABS not long back, had fielded several candidates in the recent elections of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation.

The Special Branch has received information that Gawli is planning to start at least 25 units of the ABS in the city of which 15 will be in Pune while the rest will be started in the twin town of Pimpri-Chinchwad, the first of which is to be started in Bibvewadi area in the next month.

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However, the location where the office of the unit will be set up is yet to be ascertained, police sources said.

In the wake of this development, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Branch) Bhagvantrao More today ordered the Local Intelligence Branch (LIB) to find out the exact location where the office of the organisation is to be set up and the people involved in it, sources from the LIB revealed.

According to the police officials, Gawli might try to sneak into the political circles of the city by attempting to capture the support of the employees of the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation.

The police have also received a tip off that he has about 200 contacts in the city’s political field and trade unions.

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Besides Pune, Gawli is also planning to start units at Sindhudurga, Aurangabad, Dhule, Buldhana and Nashik, police officials said. Gawli has already formed bases at Akola and Ahmednagar, the second just a fortnight back.

The don had openly campaigned for the candidates of the ABS, against the Shiv Sena, during the Mumbai Corporation elections in February last and was arrested under the National Security Act a few days before the polls. Since his release in April after the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court struck down his arrest under NSA as illegal, Gawli started spreading his tentacles through the ABS, especially targetting the labour unions.

His group has already displaced the official Shiv Sena union in a Mumbai five-star hotel and made a splash when a horde of Shiv Sainiks crossed over to the ABS in Akola a few weeks ago.

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