Daya Nayak
Daya Nayak (Kannada:ದಯಾ ನಾಯಕ್) was a sub-inspector with the Mumbai police force, part of the infamous Mumbai Encounter Squad. He is said to have eliminated more than eighty gangsters of the Mumbai underworld, acting on tip-offs from a well-developed intelligence gathering network. There are allegations that these shootouts, known as Police encounters, were staged, or that some of them may have also been commissioned by opposing gangs. He is often referred to by the print media as an "Encounter Specialist" for this reason.
In February 2006, a court found him guilty of having assets disproportionate to his income. He was suspended from service and sent to jail on a non-bailable warrant.
Early life
He was born in Yennehole village near Karkala in South Canara (present-day Udupi district) of Karnataka. Daya Nayak belongs to the Rajapur Saraswat Brahmins(RSB) who mainly reside along the western coast of the state of Karnataka and Maharastra.
He went to Mumbai to earn a living in 1979. He started off working in a Udupi restaurant. The owner of the restaurant encouraged him to continue his education. He completed his graduation while still working at the restaurant.
Career as a police officer
He joined the Mumbai police force in 1995 as a sub-inspector to later on become a much respected encounter specialist in the elite Crime Intelligence Unit. Along with the likes of Pradeep Sawant, Vijay Salaskar and Pradeep Sharma, he was responsible for reducing the crime rate in Mumbai. The rough count of encounter killings by this group include
- Pradeep Sharma, 104 (including those alleged to be supari (contract) killings from other gangs)
- Daya Nayak - 82
- Praful Bhosale - 77 (Allegedly)
- Ravindra Angre - 51 (Allegedly)
- Vijay Salaskar - 40 (Allegedly)
Encounter Killing controversy
Encounter killings have been severely criticised by many human rights associations. It is believed that the encounters were carried out under orders and tacit support from top police officials as well as the state government. These drastic measures eventually led to a decline in extortion related killings of prominent businessmen. Such killings were commonplace during the period 1995-2000 in Mumbai.
Daya Nayak has many friends in Mumbai's Bollywood community. Prominent Bollywood personalities were often the targets of extortion and murder by the underworld.
Allegations of mafia links and corruption
In 2003, ex-journalist Ketan Tirodkar went to court and accused Mr Nayak of accepting money from mafia bosses. Mr Tirodkar is also facing trial for his alleged involvement in underworld activities.
In spite of being vouched for by the Commissioner of Police of Mumbai A.N. Roy, Daya Nayak is being investigated by the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court for these alleged links with the underworld. As a result, while investigations were on, he was transferred to a small police station in the western suburb of Kandivali in Mumbai.
Anti-corruption officials raided his house on January 21, 2006 following reports that he had amassed more wealth than his known sources of income could have allowed.
Though accused by the media of being an "on the run" absconder, Nayak presented himself at the court immediately on being asked to do so, on 23rd January, 2006; just hours after which he was suspended from the Mumbai police force.
On February 18, 2006, a sessions court issued a non-bailable warrant against him in the disproportionate assets case after his anticipatory bail plea was rejected by the sessions court, the Bombay High Court and after the Supreme Court of India declined to interfere in the case and directed him to surrender.
Two days later, he surrendered as directed and was sent to judicial custody.
Charitable Causes
Daya Nayak has helped find a government school in his hometown in Karnataka, which was inaugurated by Amitabh Bachchan amidst the presence of many other Bollywood personalities. It is alleged, though not established, that the money used to built the school was obtained through illegal means, primarily extortion.
Movies
The Hindi movies "Ab Tak Chhappan" by Ram Gopal Varma and N Chandra's "Kagaar" and a Kannada film named "Encounter Daya Nayak" were made based on his life. The 2007 film Risk by Vishram Sawant, also has overtones from Daya Nayak's life.
See also
References
- "I've done 83 encounters" - rediff.com article dated October 27, 2003
- "Crack shot becomes target of raid" Telegraph article dated November 21, 2003
- "Reprieve for Daya Nayak" - rediff.com article dated June 7, 2004
- "Bombay's crack 'encounter' police" - BBC article dated June 9, 2004.
- "Daya Nayak suspended by Mumbai Police" - Times of India article dated January 23, 2006
- "Warrant against Daya Nayak" - The Hindu article dated February 19, 2006
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