Pandora’s "trunks" shut Gawli’s options

Besides thedocuments, police found a telephone diary, a brown diary and two slim notebooks which record details of expenditure. There is no mention of income whatsoever. Written in code, the notations indicate only figures and the purpose of the expenses. For instance, `Rs 5/- to R P’, which means Rs 5,000 to Raju Phillips. Or `Rs 90/- to Sabnis for filing petitions for Yeshu, Vikas and Lahu’, which means Rs 90,000 spent on court cases. Another entry records that a “half-peti (half a lakh) was paid to advocate Momin Hasan Ali. Besides lawyers’ fees, the diary details expenses inside the jail. Like `Rs 50/-‘ for Gawli’s in Amravati jail. While Gawli’ is entitled to spend Rs 50,000, other members had to be content with just half of the amount. An entry dated November 11, 1996, records `Rs 25/-‘ for their men in jail, while another notation with the same date says: “Rs 18/- Nasik money order (90 X 200)”, explained as Rs 200 for 90 jail guards.

Apart from jail officials, names of police officers bribed by Gawliare also mentioned along with the coded amount. An assistant commissioner of police (ACP) in the state Criminal Intelligence Department (CID) was paid Rs 50/- (h) in 1996. `H’ stands for haath (hand) while each hand denotes a thousand rupees. Another officer from the Pune police department was paid Rs 100/- (h). The lone uncoded entry refers to money spent on bribing court officials. It reads: “1,25,000 /4/97, Shri Vikram Nalawade, Pradeep Sonawane Case madhil mulaana sodawanayaas setting saathi (Rs 1,25,000 paid to Nalawade for `setting’ in the Pradeep Sonawane case and release of boys).” Sonawane was a Pune-based builder who was shot dead at Gawli’s behest. Dozens of files and sheafs of papers pertain to litigation and encounter-related activities. Police have found over 20 files which are mainly encounter petitions and copies sent to various rights commissions, the state home minister, Union home minister and the prime minister.

Lists of witnesses who the gang intended to bribe havealso been recovered. The notebook details money paid to witnesses, for instance Rs 10,000 was given to Kashibai Phoolwali, a witness in the encounter of Suresh Yende and there are seven such lists There are seven lists comprising over 200 witnesses’s names.

Assistant Police Inspector, Vijay Salaskar, of the Nagpada police station, who is under investigation in the encounter death of gangsters Sada Pawle and Vijay Tandel, says, “This proves that these complaints were filed, not by relatives of the individuals, but by the gang in a concerted effort to stop police action against the gang.

” The booty also contained other papers and applications already drafted in anticipation of surviving gang members like Bandya Adivalekar and Raja Jadhav lest they are killed in police encounters.