MUMBAI: The son of Chandrakant Khopde , who ran the once infamous mafia group, Golden Gang , was found dead on the railway tracks at Sewri in the early hours of Monday. Gitesh Khopde, 31, lived at Wadala and was single. The Government Railway Police (GRP) is trying to track down the motorman of the train that knocked down Gitesh. It is unclear whether the death was caused by accident or if it was a suicide.

Around 12.15am, the station manager of Sewri was informed of a man lying injured near the level crossing. The station manager informed GRP personnel and he was rushed to the Sion Hospital. Around 1.15am, doctors at the hospital declared him dead. Police established his identity on the basis of his belongings. No suicide note was found. The police are now trying to look for eyewitnesses.

"We are probing whether Gitesh was trying to cross the tracks," said an officer. A case of accidental death has been recorded. The railway police's crime branch will conduct a parallel probe to find out if there's any foul play involved. Gitesh was a former member of Yuva Sena headed by Aditya Thackeray .

According to slain journalist J Dey's book, "Khallas- an A to Z guide to the Underworld," the Golden Gang was headed by Chandrakant between 1966 to 1990. Members of the gang wore gold ornaments and they were arch rivals of the Diamond Gang. The gang operated from the Sun Mill compound in Lower Parel where Chandrakant continues to live till date. Mill owners hired them to settle industrial disputes and pressurise labour unions to accept terms of employers. The gang raked in money from gambling dens around Dadar, Prabhadevi, Girgaum and Lalbaug. Chandrakant had stakes in some illegal betting dens and in the late seventies, his income was estimated to be around Rs 25 lakh per month, an unheard of sum at that time. The Golden Gang is now inoperative.

