Antilia bomb scare: NIA court grants bail to bookie Naresh Gaur;stays order pending appeal

On November 20, bookie Naresh Gaur became the first accused in the Antilia bomb scare case to get bail. Arrested along with convicted cop Vinayak Shinde on March 21, he was accused of procuring SIM cards for dismissed ASI Sachin Vaze. Maintaining that he had been falsely implicated in the case, Gaur asserted that he was not aware of the planting of gelatin sticks nor the murder of businessman Mansukh Hiren. However, the NIA requested the court to stay the order temporarily so that it can file an appeal in the higher court.

While the central agency cited a Bombay High Court order to argue that the special court has the power to stay its order for a few days under provisions of the CrPC, the defence strongly opposed the application. However, Special Judge AT Wankhede approved the NIA's request and stayed the order for 25 days. At present, all accused persons including Gaur and Vaze are in judicial custody. 

Antilia bomb scare and Mansukh Hiren's death

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 Sachin Vaze of being responsible for her husband's death, ex-Maharashtra CM 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 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. Police Inspector Sunil Mane and Assistant Police Inspector Riyazuddin Kazi were also taken into custody during further investigation. Subsequently, Vaze, Mane and Kazi were dismissed from the force by Mumbai Police Commissioner Hemant Nagrale.