Pawle defied surrender orders8217;

MUMBAI, April 23: Deposing before the Commission of Enquiry into Encounters today police sub inspector Avinash Sawant said he fired at gangs...

MUMBAI, April 23: Deposing before the Commission of Enquiry into Encounters today police sub inspector Avinash Sawant said he fired at gangster Sada Pawle after the latter pointed his AK-56 rifle at the police team defying orders to surrender.

PSI Sawant of Nagpada police station, part of the team that gunned down Pawle and Vijay Tandel on September 26, 1997, demonstrated to the commission how Pawle shot at the police officers. He said when Pawle got down from his Fiat car the barrel of the rifle in his hand was pointing towards his right foot.

During cross-examination by counsel for People8217;s Union of Civil Liberties Lalit Chari, Sawant said standing 12 feet away he fired from his service pistol when Pawle raised his weapon and held it straight towards assistant police inspector Vijay Salaskar and PSI Hemant Desai.

Sawant said he fired three rounds even as Pawle pulled the trigger of his AK-56 rifle with its barrel raised and shaking. However, while none of Pawle8217;s four or five shots hit the police8217;sMaruti car, Sawant8217;s first bullet struck Pawle on his left temple. Salaskar and Desai too fired three rounds at Pawle, the PSI added.

8220;There was no brain matter at the spot where Pawle was found,8221; Sawant said adding that he did not make any efforts to trace the bullets fired by Pawle. Besides, there was chaos where the incident took place, with people running helter-skelter and nearly 70 cars crowding the approach roads.

8220;The police used private cars and I am not aware whether the cars were hired by the police as arrangements were made by PSI Mayekar,8221; said Sawant.

In his deposition on Wednesday, Sawant had maintained that at the time of the encounter Pawle was driving the Fiat car with Tandel seated besides him. However, key witness Baldev Singh had maintained that besides Pawle and Tandel there was Pawle8217;s brother Anand, sister Hausabai, sister-in-law Anita while he Baldev was driving the Fiat car adding that Pawle and Tandel were shot from point-blank range.