Saviour Gawli to jawan’s rescue

For Naik and his family, Bagwe — also a member of the Gawli-backed Shiv Shambu Narayan Trust — came as a saviour. ‘‘He told my son he would rebuild our house,’’ Urmila said. ‘‘They gave us money, and brought a contractor. In four days, we had our kitchen back. A happy Rajan then left for the border.’’

Naik was on leave to oversee the transition of the kitchen from a tin structure to a brick-mortar room when the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC’s) anti-encroachment squad razed it on May 28. ‘‘Rajan had taken permission’’ from the G/North Ward Office for the reconstruction, Urmila said. ‘‘They pushed me and said ‘Your son may be in the Army, so what?’ He has been an Armyman for 15 years.’’

Mumbai’s resident don Gawli said he didn’t see things quite that way. At his Dagdi Chawl den in Byculla, he said: ‘‘The gesture came from the heart. I want him to fight for the country and not bother about troubles at home. Woh soldier hai, hamein uska pura khayaal rakhna hoga (He is a soldier, we need to take good care of him).’’

Naik’s elder brother, Sanjeev, is uneasy with all the unexpected attention. ‘‘People can exploit the fact we have been helped by Arun Gawli. We could have taken anyone’s help, not just Gawli’s,’’ he said, emphasising they never approached Gawli.