The film begins with Mumbai Police Inspector Sadhu Agashe walking on the beach. He narrates how he joined the police force in 1985 and kept mostly to a desk job for the next nine years. In 1994, he was reassigned to the special force. The main objective of the special force is to summarily shoot the most hardened criminals in the city. We see how Sadhu and his colleagues track down and shoot a notorious gangster Rafiq. Sadhu reports to Commissioner Pradhan. The commissioner identifies the targets and supplies Sadhu with weapons, finance and logistical support for these operations [known in local parlance as "encounters"]. Sadhu runs a small team [with Francis, Imtiaz, Narayan and various others] to carry out these encounters. Sadhu invariably gets wide media coverage after his encounters. As a result, the commissioner is sometimes questioned by the politicians and human-rights activists. However, the commissioner defends the team and its purpose by their results and the consequent reduction in violent crimes in the city. Outside of work, Sadhu makes a happy home with his wife Namita, who works as a lecturer at a nearby college, and their ten year old son Aman. Sadhus principal nemesis is the underworld don Zamir Zaffar. Zamir operates from outside India and runs the various gangs in the city. Zamir frequently calls Sadhu to rail about Sadhu targeting Zamirs goons [including Rafiq] and to try to get Sadhu [with oversized financial offers and favors] to join his gang. Sadhu, however, remains devoted to his government job. Sadhus team member Imtiaz Siddiqui is also not particularly thrilled about Sadhu. He chafes under Sadhus command, and privately competes with Sadhu over the kill count . The film introduces a young cop Jatin Shukla who has been asked to join Sadhus team. Jatin is smart, tough and operates quietly. Sadhu immediately takes a liking to him. Sadhu asks him to lead the next encounter. During the encounter, Jatin shoots a violent gangster who has evaded arrest or encounter for several years. The encounter is a success and Jatin receives a warm welcome to Sadhus team. Imtiaz is not happy. He openly voices his displeasure against Sadhu for having exposed a new kid [when others like Imtiaz himself are passed over for the assignment] to such free-range peril. Sadhu confronts Imtiaz. The reason he passes over Imtiaz, says Sadhu, is because Imtiaz focuses less on the mission at hand and more on racking up his kill count. Sadhu narrates a litany of Imtiazs previous failures [where innocent civilians were shot] and points out that it unnecessarily exposes the team to human-rights scrutiny. Imtiaz is humiliated and disappointed. The film takes a turn when Commissioner Pradhan retires and is replaced by Commissioner Suchak. At his first press conference, Suchak is annoyed to find the media turning away from him and going straight to Sadhu. It turns out that Imtiaz is a longtime sycophant of Suchak. Not surprisingly, Suchak is no fan of Sadhu. It is revealed that Suchak, Sadhu and the entire police force is part of a large and complex system. Sadhu and his team are mere pawns on a larger chessboard. Sadhus encounters turn into specific civilian kills on Suchaks orders. He deduces that these kills are part of a system of favors between the police [with Suchak at the helm], the politicians and various industrialists. Around this time, Sadhu receives a tip about another gangster, Feroz; Feroz is the right hand man of rival don Rajsekhar. Sadhu assembles a team to take him down when he is ordered [by Suchak] to take him alive. During the encounter, Imtiaz accidentally shoots Ferozs invalid mother. Feroz is taken alive, but eventually escapes police custody. Some time after, while attending Jatins wedding reception, Namita is shot and killed in a drive-by. Soon after Zamir calls Sadhu to ask why Feroz was taken alive [i.e. the suggestion that Feroz shot Namita in retaliation for his mother]. Intent on solving the murder, Sadhu sweats Welankar. Welankar turns out to be a wealthy corporator with significant political connections. Welankar tips off Suchak, and Suchak promptly takes Sadhu off the case. Sadhu resigns the job. He goes after Welankar and shoots him. Suchak appoints Imtiaz to Sadhus old job and declares that Sadhu is a fugitive. Imtiaz tries to arrest Sadhu, but Sadhu has fled. Imtiaz gathers the old team and goes after Sadhu. When they catch up with Sadhu, Imtiaz reveals that Suchak has ordered a hit on Sadhu. As Imtiaz prepares to shoot, Francis and the others intervene and Imtiaz is shot in the resulting fracas. Sadhu flees the scene. Suchak issues a shoot at sight order after him. Sadhu reaches out to Zamir and offers to join his gang, in exchange for the opportunity to finish Feroz. After some initial byplay, Zamir agrees and arranges to extricate Sadhu from India. Sadhu arrives at Zamirs island away from India. They end up drinking late into the night. Sadhu figures that Zamir had ordered the hit on Namita. Zamir refutes the theory and blames Feroz. In a stunning move, Sadhu reveals he had killed Feroz the night Feroz escaped, and Sadhu simultaneously slits Zamirs throat. It is revealed that Zamir had indeed ordered the hit on Namita. Zamir expected Sadhu to wipe out Feroz and Rajsekhar. But Zamir was unaware of Ferozs death, and ended up paying the price for his misdeeds. The film ends with Sadhu and the former Commissioner Pradhan having an informal chat. Sadhu says that he is still a wanted man in India. He says he will continue supplying information to the cops about various underworld activities, and thus keep up the traditions of the force. He asks Pradhan to look after his son.