Encounter Specialist Dayanayak likely to rejoin Mumai Police Service (मु. पो. से.)

Saw the movie “Risk” recently (Few months ago to be precise) and Daya Nayak’s thought occupied me. I was in higher secondary school when Daya Nayak was in his days of glory. He was a distant relative of one of the students in our school and had visited our school once. We saw him from a distance and were kind of scared to go near because of the pistol in his holster. He also had addressed the students and spoke few words, though I don’t remember now what exactly he spoke. One of the most respected and celebrated police officers in India, Daya Nayak needs no introduction. He was a nightmare to Mumbai’s underworld. Himself and his team made India proud by clipping the wings of underworld. I won’t go into details of his heroism, which have been effectively portrayed in movies like Ab tak chappan, Kagar, Risk, Encounter Daya Nayak (Kannada) and Shootout at Lokhandwala. With over 83 encounters in his account his rivals might have realized that they can’t face him face to face and devised novel ways to eliminate him from their way. Sometime in 2003 he was made victim of a conspiracy (he hasn’t been proved guilty yet and ‘investigations’ still pending, as far as I know. But I believe he is innocent) and booked under “disproportionate assets” case. He was arrested, his house was raided, family members humiliated and a lion was conned into a legal cage. The credibility of the ‘journalist’ who made the allegation is itself in doubt, but no one seem to be interested in looking at the incidents from a different angle. Later he was also booked under few more cases like extortion etc, the credibility of the case and investigations not known. Of late there haven’t been much news of him and I thought I’ll dig around a bit to see what he is up to these days. More than 5 years have passed, we don’t have much idea what he is up to, what happened to all those allegations against him and the progress of the cases slapped on him. Even Google doesn’t throw much updates… May be Mumbai police is happy to keep him away… It happens only in India… MPs who take 100 crores for a vote are never questioned… Politicians who don’t have elementary school education but manage to amass hundreds of crores within few years are never booked. An exemplary police officer who risked his life to fight the underworld, so that others can live peacefully, is grilled for several years questioning him how he bought a house and a car. So many politicians like Jayalalitha, Mayavati and dozens of others who are facing charges of disproportionate assets, amounting to several crores (several times their possible lifetime income) are going about their business as usual, as if nothing has happened. Why Daya Nayak is treated so badly when he is not yet proven guilty? I found a blog dedicated to Daya Nayak which carries some pretty detailed information about Daya Nayak’s career, allegations against him, Mumbai underworld and all. Last post in the blog dates to Feb 19, 2006, wherein the author says he would stop blogging as Daya Nayak has ‘broken his silence’. [An interview during the same time where Dayanayak spoke with a regional news Website can be found]No further updates. In between, there’re reports that Daya Nayak is unofficially helping Mumbai police teams in probing July 11 bomb blast case. [2006, HT news]That’s a bit of a relief-his skills are somewhat utilized, though it doesn’t look like his rank and honors are restored fully. Lots have been said about “encounters” and human rights of these gangsters killed in the shootouts. Where do these people hide when terrorists strike time and again, killing more and more people? Your thoughts welcome. Sad to say this, but it seems the law of this land are applicable to only those who care to respect it. Our traffic police never chase a biker who speeds away when signaled to pullover for a document check, but thoroughly torture someone who cares to pullover. Same at other instances. Why am I writing all these now?

Because I learnt recently from a reliable source that DayaNayak is likely to re-join Mumbai police service shortly (within a month). [Identity of the source has been withheld as I am not sure if it is appropriate to disclose the same. It is not clear at this moment if cases against him have been dropped and at what rank he is being reinstated] Was trying to find out some updates on Daya since sometime but had drawn a blank almost everywhere. This latest news, looks promising, as it would mean justice to an elite officer and country gets back the services of a skilled cop. I wish him all the best in whatever assignment he undertakes and am sure he will regain his days of glory. With terror strikes now becoming a common phenomenon, we certainly need more officers like DayaNayak (with a free hand to operate on their own) to fight the evils. ( Disclaimer: Information mentioned in this post are as available with this author at the time of posting this. Administrative decisions are subject to change and no liability is accepted regarding this) I end this post with the same question Amitab Bachchan asked in the movie “Shootout at Lokhandwala”- When someone with a gun enters your home, whom do you prefer that person to be? A police officer like Daya Nayak? Or a member of underworld/terrorist organization?

Photo from BBC website.