Saif Ali Khan Attacked: Who is Daya Nayak, an encounter specialist and lead investigator of the case?

In a shocking incident, Saif Ali Khan was attacked with a knife at his Bandra residence in Mumbai during a burglary attempt at his house. To investigate the matter, Mumbai Police Officer Daya Nayak, who is an encounter specialist, was spotted arriving at Saif's house.

According to reports, the encounter specialist was spotted, along with an entire team of crime branch officials. He was seen surrounded by the media outside the house when he was going back after the investigation, but he refused to comment on the matter.

To investigate the attack, the Mumbai Police have formed seven teams to study the incident thoroughly. The Tara Rum Pum actor was stabbed multiple times during the attack at his Bandra West home around 2:30 AM. Currently, the actor is undergoing surgery and treatment at Lilavati Hospital, where he underwent the surgery. Following this, a case has been filed by the Bandra police.

Amid all the buzz around the case, know who Daya Nayak is, an encounter specialist who is investigating Saif Ali Khan¡¯s attack case.

Mumbai Police Officer Daya Nayak leaves from the residence of Actor Saif Ali Khan in Mumbai's Bandra pic.twitter.com/MafCHYKrNB

¡ª Mudassir Goenka (@MudassirGoenka7) January 16, 2025

Who is Daya Nayak?

Inspector Daya Nayak is widely known as an 'Encounter Specialist,' who holds a remarkable story of dedication and perseverance. The renowned police officer was born into a humble family in Karnataka.

Facing multiple childhood hardships, Nayak completely moved to Mumbai in 1979, when he initially worked as a table cleaner in a hotel, reported OneIndia.

Later in a dramatic twist, the owner of the hotel recognised his potential and offered him help to pursue his graduation. Before this, Daya Nayak worked as a plumber and used to make a modest salary of ?3,000.

Ffs has no clue Daya Nayak is still active,i thought he was suspended https://t.co/6px2Z7mB9x

¡ª Pandemic Pep?? (@afc_anubhav) January 16, 2025

Daya Nayak conducted over 87 encounters

The encounter specialist started his career as a police officer in 1995 with his first posting at the Juhu police station. His first encounter was with two underworld gangsters from the Chota Rajan gang on December 31, 1995.

During this encounter, the gangster started an open fire at Daya, and in retaliation, they killed both the gangsters, which was his first-ever encounter. Since then, he has conducted over 87 encounters in Mumbai.

A look at the popular movies based on Daya Nayak

Apart from his real life, Daya Nayak has inspired many in reel life, as popular movies such as Ab Tak Chhappan by Shimit Amin and N Chandra's Kagaar are based on Nayak¡¯s personal life experiences. This was later remade into a Telugu version called Siddham and a Kannada version as the Kannada film Encounter Daya Nayak.

Along with this, in 2007 a film called Risk by Vishram Sawant has overtones from Daya Nayak's life.

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