Daya Nayak's arrest stayed, plea to be heard Friday

The Bombay High Court has stayed suspended police sub-inspector Daya Nayak's arrest until it hears his bail plea on Friday. It granted interim stay to Nayak, wife Komal and associate Rajendra Padte till Friday.

A special court on Thursday rejected their anticipatory bail plea in a disproportionate assets case.

The bail was rejected by Judge S P Mahajan, who observed that there was a prima facie case against them. The Anti-Corruption Bureau opposed the bail plea, saying custodial interrogation of the accused was necessary.

On January 31, the court had reserved order on the anticipatory bail petitions of the three, till February two. The interim protection granted to Nayak, Komal and Padte continued till Thursday as ACB was restrained from arresting them.

ACB has booked Nayak for possessing wealth allegedly disproportionate to his known sources of income. His wife Komal has been charged with helping him laundering his ill-gotten wealth.

Komal's former colleague Rajendra Padte also urged for bail as he feared an arrest in the case. Prosecutor R V Kini opposed their bail plea saying ACB had enough material to show that Nayak had assets disproportionate to his known sources of income and that the other two applicants had helped him launder the money.

Encounter specialist Nayak, who eliminated 83 criminals in his ten-year police service, submitted that allegations of amassing wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income were incorrect and that he was a victim of a conspiracy hatched by rivals to finish his career.

Komal said she was in service and her monetary transactions should not be attributed to her husband. She said she was working for Deve Paints (former Garware Paints) even before her marriage. Hence the transactions questioned by ACB were undertaken by her in official capacity and had nothing to do with her husband.

The ACB has alleged that Daya had circulated money earned by him through his wife.