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Gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli arrives at his residence following his release from prison, at Dagdi Chawl in Mumbai, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025.
Mumbai: Gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli, who spent more than 17 years in jail, is back at his residence in Mumbai's Dagdi Chawl after being granted bail by the Supreme Court in a 2007 murder case.
He reached his residence in the infamous Dagdi Chawl to a grand welcome by his family members and supporters around 9 pm on Wednesday, after walking out of the Nagpur Central Jail and taking a flight from there.
The 76-year-old former MLA's supporters showered flowers and sprinkled 'gulal' (vermillion powder) to welcome him and distributed sweets in the area.
His family members were overjoyed and were seen clicking pictures with him as he entered his house, where mediapersons were also present in large numbers.
Gawli shot to prominence from Dagdi Chawl, a neighbourhood of Byculla, and is the founder of the Akhil Bharatiya Sena. He was an MLA from 2004 to 2009 from the Chinchpokli assembly constituency in Mumbai.
The Supreme Court last week granted bail to Gawli, who was serving life imprisonment for the murder of Mumbai Shiv Sena corporator Kamlakar Jamsandekar.
In its order passed on August 28, the bench of Supreme Court Justices M M Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh noted Gawli was in jail for more than 17 years and his appeal was pending before it.
"After the completion of all legal formalities of the prisons department, Gawli came out of the jail around 12.30 pm on Wednesday," an official said.
His family members, relatives, lawyer and supporters waited outside and they greeted him as he stepped out of the prison.
Amid tight security arrangements, Gawli was taken to the Nagpur airport.
Additional police force was deployed inside the jail premises in view of Gawli's release, the official said.
The top court granted bail to Gawli subject to terms and conditions imposed by the trial court.
Gawli, who was booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), had challenged the December 9, 2019 verdict of the Bombay High Court, upholding his life sentence given by the trial court.
In August 2012, a sessions court in Mumbai sentenced him to life imprisonment in the case and imposed a Rs 17 lakh fine.