NIA gets Sachin Vaze’s custody till March 25 in Ambani security care probe
Sachin Vaze was arrested late Saturday night by the NIA at their Mumbai office after he was questioned in the case.
The Special NIA court on Sunday remanded assistant police inspector Sachin Vaze to the National Investigation Agency’s custody till March 25 in connection with an explosives-laden SUV found near the residence of Mukesh Ambani.
Vaze was arrested late Saturday night by the NIA at their Mumbai office after he was questioned in the case. The NIA produced him before the special NIA court on Sunday afternoon and sought his custody for further investigation.
The prosecution asked for Vaze’s maximum custody for further investigation. The agency pleaded that the case has so far traveled by three agencies- Mumbai Crime Branch, ATS and later NIA. Hence they would want to probe the role played by the accused.
The prosecution, however, refused to share the copy of remand application with the lawyers of Vaze citing privilege and confidentiality.
Vaze’s lawyer Sudeep Passbola objected to it and claimed that the agency has no evidence to implicate the police officer.
On the right to have access to the remand application, the court will hear the defence team's (Vaze) arguments on Monday
A senior officer said that NIA has also seized an Innova car from Motor transport (MT) department situated in Nagapada bearing the registration number MH01- ZA- 403 which was seen escorting the Scorpio SUV found parked near Ambani’s residence Antilia with 20 loose gelatin sticks. The Innova was used with fake number plate and later it was parked in Motor transport department, Nagpada for repair.
NIA officials visited the MT department at night and the Innova was confiscated brought to NIA office in South Mumbai around 3 am on Sunday.
At the time of his arrest a top NIA official told HT, "Sachin Vaze is part of the group that planted the explosive-laden Scorpio on Carmichael Road (near Antilia) on February 25."
Vaze was the lead investigator in the case before the investigation was handed over to the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and then to the NIA, The NIA recorded Vaze’s statement to find out the sequence of events as he was initially heading the probe and also for his connection to the man linked to the vehicle found with 20 gelatin sticks near the billionaire’s residence in Mumbai.
Vaze was named in a statement to police by Vimla Hiran, the widow of Thane’s Mansukh Hiran, who claimed ownership of the vehicle parked outside Ambani’s house and was later found dead in a creek on March 5. The 48-year-old auto parts dealer’s widow told the police that the explosives-laden Scorpio belonged to one Dr Peter Newton and had been with them for the past three years.
She said that Hiran lent the SUV to Vaze in November 2020 and the vehicle was sent back to his shop in Thane on February 5. It has been alleged that Vaze was also forcing the Thane businessman to take the blame for the case on him and surrender to the police.
On Friday, the Thane sessions court had rejected Vaze’s anticipatory bail application and set March 19 as the next date of hearing in connection with a separate case registered by the ATS in Hiran’s suspected murder last week.
People familiar with the developments said Vaze has also moved an application in the Bombay high court challenging the grounds of his arrest.