Sachin Vaze's NIA remand extended till April 9; CBI permitted to question him in custody

In a big development on Wednesday, a special NIA court extended the custody of suspended Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Vaze was extended till April 9. He is a key suspect in the Antilia bomb scare case and the Mansukh Hiren death case. The court also allowed the CBI to question him during his NIA remand in connection with the preliminary inquiry over ex-Mumbai Police Commission Param Bir Singh's 'extortion' charges against former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh. Meanwhile, convicted cop Vinayak Shinde and bookie Naresh Gaur were sent to judicial custody till April 21. 

During the hearing, the prosecution revealed that the police are ascertaining the source of Rs.36 lakh allegedly found in Vaze's bank account and whether it was used to procure gelatin. Claiming that Mansukh Hiren was a conspirator in the Antilia bomb scare, the NIA counsel pointed out that everyone saw him sit in a car with Vaze on a public road. Stressing that Hiren was "eliminated", he sought the extension of the suspended cop's custody for 4 days.

On the other hand, the defence lawyer Abad Ponda asserted that his client would cooperate both with the NIA as well as the CBI. However, he took objection to Vaze being handcuffed when he was taken to the CSMT station for the recreation of the crime scene. He argued that the suspended API should not be handcuffed in custody. 

Antilia bomb scare and Sachin Vaze's arrest

At around 3 pm on February 25, the security officer of Antilia- Mukesh Ambani's residence in Mumbai informed the Gamdevi Police Station of a suspicious 4-wheeler being parked on Carmichael Road. 20 sticks of gelatin and a threatening note typewritten in English were recovered from the Mahindra Scorpio. The case took a new dimension after the vehicle's owner Mansukh Hiren was found dead in a creek in Thane on March 5. While Hiren's wife accused Vaze of being responsible for her husband's death, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis produced Call Detail Record claiming that the Assistant Police Inspector was in constant touch with the deceased. 

In her complaint, Hiren's wife also alleged that the aforesaid car was in Vaze's possession since November 2020. On March 8, the NIA took over the Antilia bomb scare case and registered an FIR under Sections 120 B, 286, 465, 473 and 506(2) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 4(a)(b)(i) of The Explosive Substances Act. After being grilled for nearly 12 hours on March 13, Vaze was arrested by the NIA and remanded to its custody till March 25 subsequently.

The NIA examined various luxury cars used by Vaze and recreated the crime scene. While the Central agency also took over the probe into Mansukh Hiren's death on March 20, the Maharashtra ATS continued to investigate the case. In fact, it even arrested convicted cop Vinayak Shinde and bookie Naresh Gaur for their role in the crime. However, the ATS handed over the probe to the NIA only on March 24 after the Thane Sessions Court's order in this regard.