'Encounter specialist' Mumbai Police officer Daya Nayak has been roped in to, reportedly, lead the investigation in the Saif Ali Khan stabbing case. The 54-year-old Bollywood star was stabbed multiple times inside his apartment in Mumbai's Bandra area early on Thursday morning.
Khan, who lives on the 12th floor of Satguru Sharan apartments, was allegedly injured during a robbery attempt. He is undergoing treatment at Lilavati Hospital and is out of danger. A police complaint has been lodged for trespassing and attempt to murder.
VIDEO | Here's what Union Minister Ramdas Athawale (@RamdasAthawale) said after meeting actor Saif Ali Khan at Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 16, 2025
"His health is good. I also talked with him, and he told me that he is fine. Whatever happened was not good. Saif Ali Khan is a famous… pic.twitter.com/07jiO1YNlS
Khan's wife and Bollywood actor Kareena Kapoor Khan, and their two children are safe.
Police officers were seen at Khan's apartment complex as part of the investigation into the attack. Among them was 'encounter specialist' Daya Nayak.
Who is Daya Nayak?
Born in Karnataka's Udupi district, Nayak moved to Mumbai after class 7 due to extreme poverty. He worked as a cleaner, and plumber, before clearing the Maharashtra Public Service Commission examination and joining the Mumbai Police as a sub-inspector in 1995.
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ALSO READ: A look at Daya Nayak's career (THE WEEK ARCHIVES)
He was posted at the Juhu police station, and on December 31, 1996, he killed two members of the Chhota Rajan gang. He was soon drafted into the anti-gangster squad, and by 2004, had killed more than 80 Mumbai underworld gangsters in the 1990s, and three Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists.
He was with the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for three years.
Controversies in Daya Nayak's life
VIDEO | Attack on Saif Ali Khan: Mumbai Police inspects nearby area of actor's residence.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 16, 2025
(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/lWAbHzsoNw
Nayak is no stranger to controversies. A Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court ordered a probe into his disproportionate wealth in 2004. He was arrested, and suspended for nearly six-and-a-half years, before being reinstated in 2012 as additional commissioner of police (West) control room.
In 2014, Nayak was transferred to Nagpur, but he refused to go citing safety concerns. In July next year, he was suspended from service for not reporting for duty. He was reinstated in service on January 14, 2016.
Nayak, who was serving as in-charge of Unit-9 of the crime branch, was promoted as senior police inspector, earlier last year.
Films such as Ab Tak Chhappan and Kagaar were based on Nayak's life as an 'encounter specialist'.
