Two months after his arrest in a disproportionate assets case, suspended sub-inspector of police Daya Nayak was Thursday granted bail by the Bombay high court. Justice V M Kanade granted bail to Nayak for a sum of Rs 25,000 and asked him to report to the investigating officers whenever required.
He has also been asked to report to the Anti-Corruption Bureau officers twice a month until the chargesheet is filed.
Nayak, hailed as encounter specialist at one time, was granted bail as the ACB failed to file the chargesheet within the stipulated period of 60 days since his arrest on February 20, 2006.
Nayak's alleged associate and co-accused Rajendra Padte was granted bail by the high court on April 12.
Nayak is facing charges of amassing wealth worth over Rs 41 lakhs, disproportionate to his known sources of income.
The prosecution, opposing Nayak's bail plea, had pressed fresh charges under Section 467 and 468 of IPC (forging documents for cheating).
It was the prosecution's contention that Nayak had prepared certain documents pertaining to a flat owned by him in White Rose apartments in suburban Bandra.
The flat is in his wife Komal Nayak's name. Along with Section 467, Section 420 (cheating) has been also added in this regard.
Under 467 and 468, the maximum punishment is 10 years imprisonment, and it allows the police to file chargesheet within 90 days instead of usual 60.
However, Justice Kanade observed that this section was being added merely to get more time for filing the chargesheet, and as the investigation was more or less over, bail could be granted.
"You can invite him to lunch and he would come," the judge said in a lighter vein, before directing that Nayak should attend the ACB inquiry whenever required.
The affidavit filed by the prosecution for opposing the bail also revealed certain new developments in the investigation.
Among other things, it stated that Nayak was found to have travelled by air more than a hundred times to Mangalore, Bangalore and Ahmedabad along with his family members.
Another allegation in the affidavit is that Nayak had purchased a licensed pistol which cost him Rs 1,50,000.
It is also alleged that Nayak had paid a bill of Rs 2,50,000 for a mobile which was not in his name, but was used by him.
Nayak was brought to the special sessions court in Mumbai as his judicial custody was due to expire Thursday.
Though he has got bail, in view of court and jail procedures, he may to have to spend another night in jail, so the sessions court extended the judicial custody by one day.
As to the delay in filing the chargesheet, Public Prosecutor Satish Borulkar told PTI later that in anti-corruption cases, investigating agencies cannot be expected to file chargesheets speedily.
"Especially in this case, where Nayak is suspected to have laundered a huge amount of money over a period of time, the police will have to trace the route the money had taken in the process. This takes time," he said.
"Nayak's case is not an ordinary corruption case where money could be found to be stashed in bathroom ceiling. We are dealing with a very intelligent offender here," Borulkar said.