I have plans to finish off Dawood: Gawli

“Who cares if a criminal is killed? My concern is that the police are turning into professional mercenaries and extortionists. The law can deter criminals from continuing their illegal activities. But who is going to change the attitude of the police and how?” he questioned.

Gawli made it clear that the formation of ABS would not end his war against Dawood. “I have plans to finish him (Dawood) off. But I will not disclose them right now since he is powerful and enjoys support from various quarters,” he said.

The Pune police had recently initiated an inquiry to probe Gawli’s connections with certain trade union leaders here, following reports that the underworld don plans to start at least 25 units of the ABS in the city and the neighbouring industrial township of Pimpri-Chinchwad.

“I will not tolerate any attempt to pressurise or harass my supporters. If such a thing happens, I will move the court against the Pune Police Commissioner. I will make sure that he too faces the same fate as the Mumbai Police Commissioner and other top jail officials who have been punished by the court for misusing their office to harass me,” said Gawli, who was imprisoned for nearly six years.

The underworld don accused Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray, Congress leader Sharad Pawar and Sena MP Mohan Rawle of “treachery, back-stabbing and harassment”.

“During the Pawar rule, Thackeray floated my name as a Shiv Sena sponsored candidate for the Assembly elections. I was immediately imprisoned. My brother Vijay Ahir and nephew Sachin Ahir were also arrested by his Government under the National Security Act after they won the elections of the Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor Sangh and were released only when they resigned,” alleged Gawli. His grouse against the Sena chief is that, “he initially said I was the Hindu don but later he back-tracked and started calling me names”.

Gawli added that Thackeray had tried to pressurise him to drop out of the ABS. “During the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls, I was arrested and kept at the Amravati jail. Rawle, who was on hunger strike demanding my release, approached me there and asked me to drop out of the ABS.

He also promised to rescue me within a week if I opted to step out of the ABS,” he alleged.

“My intention behind starting the ABS is to create a new leadership to replace the old leaders who are corrupt. I will create a cadre of value-oriented spiritual socio-political workers.

I will inculcate the teaching of the sants. I believe in Dasbodh and Shrimad Bhagwad Gita and worship Mahatma Gandhi’s ahimsa and Savarkar’s kshashtradharma (militancy)”.