DNA

Mumbai, Dec 19 (mb): “This is your Captain, Shweta Naik. Welcome on flight number…”. Don’t be surprised if you hear this while on a flight in the near future.

Shweta (this is not her real name) is the eldest daughter of slain gangster Amar Naik. Tall and fair Shweta, 22, supports a boy cut and is always clad in tight jeans and tee-shirts.

She is doing her flying training with a reputed aviation academy in Florida, US. She has completed more than 80 hours of flying and, after logging 250 hours, will be entitled for a Commercial Pilot’s License (CPL).

She was just 11-year old and a school-going girl and her younger sister was only nine when her father Amar Naik was shot dead in an encounter on July 10, 1996.

Her mother Anjali had no clue about how to lead her life and look after her two daughters.

But today, she is a proud of her daughters who brave the odds to excel in life. The younger one is doing her last year of MBBS at a city medical college.

Not to be left behind is the daughter of Amar’s elder brother Ashwin Naik, who is doing her second year of dentistry. Ashwin is lodged at Thane jail facing trial under several cases including the murder of his own wife, Neeta Naik.

The 250-hour flying course in the US costs anywhere between Rs25-30 lakh, with another Rs10 lakh spent on boarding and lodging expenses, said sources in the aviation business. Similarly, an MBBS course costs some Rs 5-6 lakh within the country.

Despite repeated attempts by DNA for an interview, Anjali Naik refused to speak about her daughters, pleading that she does not want any focus on her brilliant daughters.