Encounter specialist Daya Nayak promoted to ACP rank, just a day before retirement

Mumbai Police officer Daya Nayak, famously known as an "encounter specialist," was promoted to the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) just one day before his retirement. Alongside Nayak, three other police inspectors—Jeevan Kharat, Deepak Dalvi, and Pandurang Pawar from Jalgaon—were also elevated to the ACP rank.

All about Daya Nayak

Born in Udupi, Karnataka, into a Konkani-speaking family, Daya Nayak's rise has been anything but ordinary. The youngest child of Badda and Radha Nayak, he started his working life at a tea stall before moving to Mumbai in 1979 to support his family. While living in a hotel portico where he worked, he completed his Class 12 from a municipal school in Goregaon and later graduated from CES College, Andheri.


Nayak joined the police force in 1996 and quickly gained fame for his role in Mumbai's fight against organized crime. In a city plagued by underworld violence during the 1990s, he was part of the elite "encounter squad" and was credited with neutralizing over 80 gangsters, including notorious names such as Vinod Matkar, Rafik Dabba, Sadik Kalia, and three Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives.

His first major breakthrough came in December 1996, when he shot dead two gangsters from the Chhota Rajan gang in Juhu after they opened fire on him. The daring encounter established him as a fearless officer in the police ranks.

Nayak's career, however, was not without turbulence. In 2004, the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court ordered the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to investigate him over allegations of disproportionate assets. The probe—triggered after he set up a school in Karnataka under his mother's name—led to raids in Mumbai and Bangalore and claims that he owned two luxury bus fleets under the name Vishal Travels.

Though arrested during the probe, Nayak was eventually cleared due to lack of sufficient evidence. After a prolonged suspension lasting six years, he was reinstated in 2012 and returned to active duty.

Most recently posted with the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), Nayak contributed to the high-profile case involving gelatin sticks found near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence. His team played a role in investigating the linked murder of Mansukh Hiran.