Nayak

Mumbai, Jan. 21: Fallen police hero Daya Nayak was today accused by his colleagues of having amassed assets worth nearly Rs 42 lakh more than his known sources of income.

The police’s anti-corruption bureau (ACB) booked Nayak and wife Komal under the Prevention of Corruption Act last evening and has since then raided their second-floor quarters at Kandivli and six other properties in the city’s western suburbs.

The famed encounter specialist is in hiding and is likely to be arrested when tracked down, an officer said.

“Our investigations have revealed that Nayak had assets valued at Rs 41.75 lakh more than his known sources of income. That’s 214 per cent higher than his income,” he added.

ACB officers wouldn’t reveal details of the documents seized during the raids. They, however, said the investigations would cover two finance companies ? Ojas Housing Finance Pvt Ltd and Kuber Housing Finance Ltd ? run by Komal Nayak, and a series of big transactions the firms had entered into.

The sleuths will also look at Nayak’s accounts with the Development Credit Bank at Santa Cruz West, HSBC at Vile Parle, and Dena Bank at Yogi Nagar, Borivli.

Also under scanner are payments made to several people, including a senior political journalist close to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders. Other payments include one of Rs 10 crore to a leading film financier who funded some of Bollywood’s biggest blockbusters, Rs 11 lakh to a senior colleague and Rs 21 lakh to a close family friend.

Nayak had twice in the recent past been probed by Mumbai police. Former police commissioner M.N. Singh had ordered an investigation after Nayak was accused of using his influence with some Bollywood stars to get funding for a multi-crore-rupee school in his native Mangalore.

The second probe looked at Nayak’s alleged links with gangster Chhota Shakeel and his deputy Faheem Machmach on the directions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act judge A.P. Bhangale in November 2003.

The current ACB action follows a Bombay High Court direction to investigate allegations by Nayak’s friend-turned-foe Ketan Tirodkar, a former journalist.

Tirodkar had alleged in a petition that the policeman had accumulated wealth up to 230 per cent more than his known sources of income, and that the ACB was under pressure from NCP leader Ajit Pawar not to investigate him. He urged the court to ask for all documents to be placed before it.

Nayak was once toasted as a star encounter specialist, and was among the department’s dozen-odd Dirty Harrys who shot dead a record 300 gangsters between 1998 and 2000. Nayak himself was involved in gunning down at least 83.