MUMBAI: Arun Gulab Gawli, also known as Daddy, has a battery of criminal cases against him, but unlike his crime contemporaries, he’s never made any attempt to escape from India. He lived in his house at Dagdi chawl near Byculla station until his arrest in the Jamsandekar case in 2008. Gawli was arrested several times earlier and spent periods behind bars, but he was acquitted as witnesses did not depose against him. In the 90s, he founded the Akhil Bharatiya Sena and was elected MLA in 2004. He has remained in jail since 2008, and now has to spend his entire life there. The last time he stepped out was in 2015, when he took leave of parole to attend his son’s wedding in Dagdi chawl.
Gawli had entered the world of crime in the mid-70s as part of the gang led by Rama Naik and Babu Resham that used to ensure the smuggled items of the Dawood Ibrahim gang are secure. In the late 1980s, Naik was killed and Gawli, the most senior in the gang, took its reins. As the ambitious gangster spread his wings in central Mumbai, he came into conflict with bigger don Dawood. Gawli’s gang now was involved in extorting money from businessmen, hoteliers, developers and so on in Parel, Dadar, Byculla, Chinchpokli and other parts of central Mumbai.
The tussle between D-gang, the most powerful in the city, and Gawli turned very ugly after four of Gawli’s gangsters shot Dawood’s brother in-law, Ibrahim Parkar, in 1992 (see graphic). Dawood’s gang retaliated by shooting Shailesh Haldankar, Parkar’s assassin, while he was recuperating at J J Hospital under the guard of two police constables.
In 2004, Gawli became Byculla MLA. His party, ABS, already had his close aide Sunil Ghate and his sister in-law as corporators. But his downfall was imminent. Just two weeks after being elected MLA, Gawli assaulted a journalist who had gone to interview him. This led to the first FIR against him as MLA for alleged criminal intimidation and wrongful confinement. The police deployed huge manpower around the chawl and arrested Gawli. He got bail, but a few months later, he was booked in an extortion case that led to arrest.Gawli, now 65, was born in Kopargaon in Ahmednagar district and had married Asha, a Pune resident, after falling in love with her. The couple has a son, Mahesh, and daughter, Geeta, who’s kept the ABS flag flying. She has been a corporator but lost the 2019 assembly election. Gawli’s nephew Sachin Ahir, a former minister, recently joined Shiv Sena. A Hindi film, Daddy, based on his life was released in 2017.
| Bio | |
| Real Name | Arun Gulab Gawli |
| Nickname | Daddy |
| Profession | Politician |
| Party | Akhil Bharatiya Sena |
| Biggest Rival | Dawood Ibrahim |
| Physical Stats & More | |
| Height (approx.) | in centimeters- 165 cm in meters- 1.65 m in Feet Inches- 5’ 5” |
| Weight (approx.) | in Kilograms- 62 kg in Pounds- 137 lbs |
| Eye Colour | Brown |
| Hair Colour | Black |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 17 July 1955 |
| Age (as in 2017) | 62 Years |
| Birth Place | Kopargaon, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, India |
| Zodiac sign/Sun sign | Cancer |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Hometown | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| School | City High School |
| Educational Qualification | 11th standard |
| Family | Father– Gulabrao (Worked in the mill industry) Mother– Lakshmibai Gulab Gawli Brother– Bappa Gawli (Died) Sister– Ashalata Gawli |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Caste | Kshatriya (Ahir) |
| Address | Geetai Housing Society, Dagdi Chawl, BJ Marg, Byculla, Mumbai |
| Hobbies | Playing snooker, watching gangster films |
| Controversies | • In 1986, he was arrested in the murder case of criminals Parasnath Pandey and Sashi Rasham, the kingpin of the Cobra Gang. • His gang killed Shiv Sena’s MLA Ramesh More, Balasaheb Thackeray’s confidant Jayant Jadhav and minority commission chief & MLA Ziauddin Bukhari. • In 2007, he hired contract killers to murder Shiv Sena’s corporator Kamlakar Jamsandekar. |
| Favourite Things | |
| Favourite Food | Vada Pav |
| Girls, Affairs and More | |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Wife/Spouse | Asha Gawli (Politician, She was Muslim before and was called, Zubeida Mujawar, but converted to Hinduism after marrying Arun Gawli) |
| Children | Daughters– Geeta Gawli, Yogita Gawli, Asmita Gawli Son– Mahesh Gawli  |
| Money Factor | |
| Net Worth (as in 2014) | INR 2 crore |
Some Lesser Known Facts About Arun Gawli
- Does Arun Gawli smoke?: Yes
- Does Arun Gawli drink alcohol?: Yes
- Gawli was born into a poor family who used to live in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh, but in the early 1950s, they shifted to Dagdi Chawl, Mumbai.
- Due to the poor financial condition of his family, he was forced to help his family in their business of supplying milk, around Saat Raasta area in Mumbai.
- He started his career as a mill worker at Khatau mills, but when mills started calling on strikes, he formed up the ‘Byculla gang’ with Babu Reshim and Rama Naik, in the
- 1970s.
- Before working as a gangster, he also worked in Godrej and Crompton.
- His wife Asha Gawli was a Muslim before marrying him and was called with the name “Zubeida Mujawar.”
- In the 1980s, he entered Rama Naik’s gang and was initially given the task to provide protection to Dawood Ibrahim’s consignments.
- In 1986, he was arrested for the first time for the murder of criminal Parasnath Pandey and Sashi Rasham, the kingpin of the Cobra Gang.
- After Rama Naik got killed due to a land dispute with Dawood Ibrahim, Gawli became Dawood’s arch enemy.
- In the early 1990s, when his brother, Bappa Gawli, was brutally killed by Dawood’s men, he killed Dawood’s brother-in-law Ibrahim Parkar.
- He had a knack to escape from the jail.
- He was imprisoned for 9 years under TADA Act (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities).
- In 2004, he formed his own political party; ‘Akhil Bhartiya Sena’ and contested the Assembly elections in Maharashtra and was elected as an MLA from Dagdi Chawl, Mumbai.
- From 1986 to 2005, around 15 cases were registered against him, but none of the offenses were proven by the Police.
- He is a believer of Lord Ganesha and Lord Krishna, and is also a God-fearing man.
- Arjun Rampal portrayed his role in the film ‘Daddy’ (2017).
