Encounter Specialists

Senior Inspector Vijay Salaskar 44: Graduated from P.D. Lion8217;s College at Goregoan. He later completed his M Com from Bombay Universi...

Sub-Inspector Daya Nayak 32: Youngest among the encounter specialists. Did his B Com from CET College in Andheri West before joining the 1995 batch as police sub-inspector. Began life in Mumbai waiting tables in an Udipi restaurant.

AMONG the many weapons in the police arsenal that have broken the backbone of the underworld in Mumbai is the 8216;8216;encounter8217;8217; now rechristened 8216;8216;operation8217;8217;, and a special band of brothers called 8216;8216;encounter specialists8217;8217;. Most of them belonging to the 1983 batch of the Police Training College in Nashik, it is these officers who used the encounter to devastating effect, ever since the underworld grew trigger-happy in the late 1980s. And yes, like a badge of honour, each one is still keeping score. With 600-odd gangsters being gunned down in the last 10 years, the pickings have indeed been rich.

Among these 8216;8216;specilaists8217;8217; is Senior Inspector Vijay Salaskar. His tally: 39 encounters, with a special penchant for Arun Gawli8217;s associates. Assistant Police Inspector API Ravindranath Angre, on the other hand, is credited with the virtual elimination of the Amar Naik-Ashwin Naik gangs. The Pradeep Sharma-Daya Nayak duo spelt terror for Chhota Shakeel and Abu Salem hirelings, notching up no less than 65 encounters.

Senior Inspector Vijay Salaskar 44:
Graduated from P.D. Lion8217;s College at Goregoan. He later completed his M Com from Bombay University before joining the police force in 1983.

Senior Inspector Praful Bhosle8217;s team, stationed at Ghatkopar, has felled no less than 70 gangsters since 1999. He is aided by Assistant Police Inspectors API Hemant Desai, Prakash Patil, Rajan Vanmane and Ashok Khot. Operating from a dingy office at Worli, a newly formed squad comprising API Avinash Sawant, Mahesh Desai, Salim Bagwan, Bushan Belnekar and Ninad Sawant have had some important strikes in Central Mumbai.

Other 8216;8216;specialists8217;8217; include Rajan Ghule, Rajan Pillai, Anant Kenjale and Arun Borude, who also belong to the 1983 batch.

Among the big hits is Chhota Rajan aide Vinod Matkar, who was shot dead by Pradeep Sharma. Arun Gawli8217;s lieutenant Sada Pawle fell to Salaskar8217;s sharp-shooting. While Chhota Shakeel henchman Arif Kalia was Bhosle8217;s target, Ashwin Naik8217;s key associate Shashikant Sagwekar alias Chikna Babu was Angre8217;s big hit.

Senior Inspector Pradeep Sharma 43: Secured an M Sc degree from Pune University. His father was a school teacher, but he wanted to join the police force.

Mumbai8217;s first encounter dates back to January 11, 1982, when 18 Crime Branch officers gunned down urban dacoit and dreaded gangster Manya Surve near a beauty salon at Wadala. However, the spate of encounters only picked up in the late 1980s and received a further impetus when the underworld went ballistic during the serial blasts in 1993. It was in the late 1980s that the Anti-Terrorist Squad was set up under former additional commissioner of police A.A. Khan, remembered for the infamous Lokhandwala shootout, which claimed five gangsters including Maya Dolas in 1992.

These 8216;8216;encounter specialists8217;8217; say that being from the same batch helped them bond, a factor that was crucial in their modus operandi. Sharing information with each other and meeting frequently also helped boost their morale, they reveal.