Mumbai, Nov. 1: Former journalist Ketan Tirodkar, who last month accused “encounter specialist” Daya Nayak of having underworld links, has threatened to kill himself on the court premises when Bombay High Court hears the case on Monday.
Tirodkar, who had sensationally burst into a courtroom on October 16 to level accusations against the Mumbai crime branch officer, today said he would kill himself if Nayak is not transferred to a “less crucial posting’’ when investigations are conducted.
“Witnesses are easily cowed down by him and would not be able to depose independently before the court and the police’s own inquiry team,’’ the former journalist said. Tirodkar’s petition against Nayak and the police department’s counter-affidavit will be heard by the court on Monday.
The former scribe accuses Mumbai police’s poster boy of having links with the Karachi and Dubai-based underworld, saying he has executed business deals on their behalf and extorted money from businessmen here.
Nayak — the chief inspiration for the protagonist of Kagaar, the just-released . Chandra film — has responded by accusing Tirodkar of being a mole of gangster Chhota Shakeel, and said the former journalist and others are trying to malign him.
Tirodkar has admitted to being a “bridge and broker” between the underworld and, allegedly, some top Mumbai policemen. He had unsuccessfully tried to stall the release of Kagaar, which hit theatres across India on Friday.
Tirodkar said a glamourised portrayal of Nayak in the movie that has been inspired “60 per cent” by the cop’s life could influence the court and would also send a “wrong signal” to the people about the inspector.
Nayak is also the role model for Ram Gopal Verma’s Ab Tak Chhappan, which is to be released next year. The top cop points out proudly that he has now killed more than 56 criminals — he puts the current tally at 83.
Nayak is in even greater trouble over allegations made by Janata Dal (Secular) national general secretary Mohammad Rafiq Shaikh. The politician has released copies of an audiotape purportedly containing conversations between don Dawood Ibrahim’s deputy Fahim Machmach and city businessman R.C. Agarwal in which the cop’s name crops up often as a “friend”.
The tape, whose authenticity is yet to be verified, has Machmach telling Agarwal, who wants business rival Tejpal Singh to be bumped up, to let things “cool down a bit” as “bade bhai (Dawood) doesn’t want any trouble right now”.
The conversations, which reportedly took place on September 9 and 12, were recorded by a police informer in Shaikh’s presence.
The Dal secretary has sent copies of the tape to chief minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Mumbai police commissioner R.S. Sharma, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, the human rights commission in Delhi and former chief justice, Ranganath Mishra.
Shaikh has said he will file a petition asking the Tirodkar-Nayak case to be investigated by the CBI. He adds that Nayak was using Shinde’s name to bail out Agarwal, saying the orders to let off the businessman had come from the “very top”.
A Mumbai police team led by deputy commissioner of police Sandip Vaishnavi is investigating the matter. Shinde has asked the police to get to the bottom of the case as soon as possible. Vaishnavi quizzed Tirodkar for six hours last Saturday.
