Look Who's Fighting Crime

Asiaweek.com: "Gawli has seized on the lawlessness raging in the Indian state as a political opportunity. In June, he launched his own party -- the Akhil Bharatiya Sena (All India Army), or ABS. A rally on July 17 led by Gawli's wife, Asha, attracted about 60,000 people calling for the dismissal of the current Maharashtra government. The party is offering employment seminars, and it has opened a center that gives free legal advice to battered women.

When police shot and killed his underworld boss, Gawli began a gang of his own. His "family" now has 2,000 members. They call the 46-year-old Gawli, who has four children of his own, "Daddy." He is believed to command tremendous loyalty among his followers. While behind bars, Gawli personally oversaw his empire with the aid of corrupt prison officials -- and a mobile phone.

Many question who is bankrolling Gawli's party and why. Some say the ABS is financed by smugglers and money-laundering syndicates based in Bombay and Singapore. Others suggest Gawli is backed by disgruntled members of rival parties Congress and Shiv Sena. And a third theory sees Gawli as a tool of the Congress party being used to disrupt Maharashtra's ruling coalition government of Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party."