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Mukesh Ambani bomb scare case
| Date | February 25, 2021 |
|---|---|
| Location | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Coordinates | 18°58′06″N 72°48′35″E / 18.9683°N 72.8097°E |
| Accused | Sachin Vaze |
On February 25, 2021, a Scorpio SUV vehicle with fake licence plates filled with gelatin sticks was placed outside industrialist Mukesh Ambani's residence Antilia in Mumbai[1]. The owner of the car, Mansukh Hiren, who had filed a police complaint about the SUV being stolen was later found dead on March 5, 2021[2]. The leader of opposition of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis demanded the arrest of Sachin Vaze for the alleged murder of Mansukh Hiren.[3] Fadnavis claimed that Mansukh Hiren's wife suspects that Sachin Vaze killed her husband.[4] Fadnavis also claimed that the last known location of Mansukh Hiren's phone was near Shiv Sena leader Dhananjay Gawde's office.[5] Three days before his death, Mansukh Hiren, had written a letter, accusing the police of harassment. He was found dead in a creek near Thane on March 5, 2021.
Vaze applied for interim relief, which was rejected by the Sessions court in Thane. After questioning him for over 12 hours, he was arrested by National Investigation Agency on 13 March for his role and involvement in placing the explosives-laden vehicle near Carmichael Road on February 25.[6][7] The NIA searched his office and seized documents and electronic devices. They also seized a Mercedes car that was being used by Waze, which contained ₹5 lakh cash, a counting machine and the original licence plates of the Scorpio. An Assistant Police Inspector Riyazuddin Kazi is being investigated who had removed a Digital Video Recorder (DVR) of CCTVs from the housing society in Thane where he lived.[8]
Timeline[edit]
A few days before the SUV was parked, Mansukh Hiren was on his way to Mumbai. Mansukh, in his complaint, said his Scorpio broke down in Vikhroli. He then left the car there and took a private cab to South Mumbai. He later returned to pick up his car, it was missing. Mansukh Hiren, who was in the vehicle spare parts business, then lodged a police complaint after the SUV was stolen. The NIA sources claim that Mansukh Hiren's Scorpio car was never stolen. After taking a private cab, Mansukh Hiren met one policeman from CIU unit, gave him his car keys, and went home. The cop from the CIU unit, who was given the car keys, picked up the car and parked it at Sachin Vaze's residence in Thane. The NIA suspects that from February 17 to 24, the car remained parked at Vaze's residence.[9]
At 1.20 am on February 25, an Innova car belongs to the CIU unit of the Mumbai Police Crime Branch was seen entering Mumbai. The same Innova had accompanied the Scorpio car that was placed outside Mukesh Ambani's residence. After parking the explosives-laden SUV outside Antilia, the driver climbed into the Innova and fled the spot. Af around 3 am, the Innova was seen passing Mulund toll naka, leaving Mumbai.[9]
A week before the crime, Sachin Vaze's family left their flat at Saket Society and the CCTV footage of the building was taken away by API Riyaz Qazi, a close aide of Vaze.[9]
On February 18, two days after the Scorpio car was outside Antilla, Sachin Vaze contacted a senior police inspector of Vikhroli police station and instructed him to stop their investigation in the Scorpio theft case lodged by Mansukh Hiran.[10]
On February 27, The Islamic terror group Jaish-ul-Hind claimed responsibility for planting the explosives-laden vehicle outside Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani’s house in Mumbai and a threatening message from a Telegram account in the name of Jaish ul Hind was posted, along with a demand for payment in a cryptocurrency (Monero) from Mukesh Ambani. However, the same evening, in another letter, Jaish Ul Hind said that it had nothing to do with the car found near Ambani’s house.[11]
Investigation[edit]
On February 26, a day after the car with 20 gelatin sticks and a threat letter found outside Ambani's residence Antilia the car owner was picked up by ATS for investigation. The next day, he was asked to appear before the NIA. On February 27, Mansukh Hiren the owner of the SUV reaches the commissioner's office in a white Land Cruiser with Sachin Vaze. Days after the mysterious death of Mansukh Hiren all three cases Mansukh Hiren death case, stolen Scorpio case and Ambani bomb scare case were transferred to ATS, but on March 8, all the cases were transferred to NIA.[9]
On March 13, NIA calls Sachin Vaze for questioning and arrested him after 12 hours of interrogation as he was not cooperating in their probe. He was produced in court on March 14 and was remanded to NIA custody till March 25.[12]
Post receiving the custody of Vaze, the NIA then searched his residence and found some evidence crucial to its investigation in the case. On March 16, the NIA seized a black Mercedes car, used by Vaze, from a parking lot near Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) which contained ₹5 lakh cash, a counting machine and the original licence plates of the Scorpio and some clothes were recovered from the car.[9] They also seized a Land Cruiser Prado and a Mercedes-Benz ML-Class. The Toyota's Land Cruiser Prado was found in Saket, parked outside Waze's residence and Mercedes-Benz ML-Class from an unknown location.[13]
On March 19, The National Investigation Agency brought Vaze to the spot outside Antilia where the car with explosives was found and reconstruct the sequence of events. Vaze was made to walk by the NIA near the spot where the SUV was found. They made him walk in the area in shirt and pants first, and then in a kurta and a handkerchief wrapped around his head in order to reconstruct a possible sequence of events of the day the SUV was found outside the 27-storey building, as seen on CCTV footage.[14]
On March 21, The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested suspended constable Vinayak Shinde (55) and cricket bookie Naresh Dhare (31) in connection with the Mansukh Hiren murder case.[15] They were produced in a court in Thane which remanded them to ATS custody till March 30.[16] The investigators also recovered three mobile phones and eight SIM cards registered in Gujarat.[17]
It was revealed that Waze booked a room in a 5-star hotel at Nariman Point in Mumbai between February 16 to 20 using a fake Aadhaar card, which carried a fictitious name but had his own photograph. During the investigation, he was seen carrying 5 bags in the hotel in CCTV footage. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on March 24, charged Sachin Vaze under sections 16 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act that deal with an individual/group conspiring or attempt to commit or advocates, abets, the commission of a terrorist act or any act preparatory to the commission of a terror act.[18] After his earlier remand expired on March 25, He was produced before the court after his earlier remand expired and the agency secured his custody for another nine days till April 3.[19] He was sent to the judicial custody for 14 days by a special NIA court on April 9 and shifted to Taloja jail until April 23.[20]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ Singh, Divyesh (March 9, 2021). "Mukesh Ambani bomb threat: CCTV captures suspect parking explosive-laden SUV, man wore PPE kit". India Today. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
- ↑ "Ambani bomb scare: ATS registers murder case into SUV owner's death". The Times of India. March 7, 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
- ↑ "Mumbai bomb scare: Devendra Fadnavis demands arrest of police officer Sachin Vaze in Mansukh Hiren death case". www.timesnownews.com. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
- ↑ "Mumbai bomb scare: Devendra Fadnavis demands arrest of police officer Sachin Vaze in Mansukh Hiren death case". www.timesnownews.com. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
- ↑ Sutar, Kamlesh Damodar; Shaikh, Mustafa (March 9, 2021). "Mukesh Ambani bomb scare: Fadnavis demands arrest of police officer Sachin Vaze". India Today. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
- ↑ "Ambani security scare: NIA arrests Mumbai cop Sachin Vaze". The Indian Express. Mumbai. 14 March 2021.
- ↑ "Full-blown political slugfest over Sachin Vaze in Maharashtra". Tribune News Service. 16 March 2021.
- ↑ Manish Pathak, Anamika Gharat (March 17, 2021). "After raid at Vaze's office, NIA says he hid evidence". Hindustan Times.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 MumbaiMarch 19, Saurabh Vaktania; March 19, 2021UPDATED:; Ist, 2021 14:02. "Mukesh Ambani bomb scare case: What happened and when". India Today. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ MumbaiMarch 23, Mustafa Shaikh; March 23, 2021UPDATED:; Ist, 2021 11:39. "Sachin Vaze asked Vikhroli cops to stop probing Mansukh Hiren's car theft case". India Today. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ "Timeline of Antilia bomb scare case: What happened and when". 19 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-21.
- ↑ MumbaiMarch 16, Vidya; March 16, 2021UPDATED:; Ist, 2021 22:35. "Ambani bomb scare case: NIA court allows suspended cop Sachin Vaze's lawyer to be present during interrogation". India Today. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ "NIA seizes two more luxury SUVs linked to Sachin Vaze". 20 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
- ↑ "Arrested Cop Made To Walk Near Antilia In Scene Reconstruction: Sources". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
- ↑ Mar 21, ByAhmed AliAhmed Ali / Updated:; 2021; Ist, 11:49. "Mumbai: Two arrested in Mansukh Hiren death case". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 2021-03-21.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ "With two arrests, ATS claims Mansukh Hiren death case solved". Deccan Herald. 21 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-21.
- ↑ MumbaiMarch 21, Mustafa Shaikh; March 21, 2021UPDATED:; Ist, 2021 20:05. "Mansukh Hiren murder solved, claims Maharashtra ATS officer day after NIA took over probe". India Today. Retrieved 2021-03-21.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ Quint, The (24 March 2021). "Ambani Bomb Scare Case: NIA Invokes UAPA Against Arrested Cop Vaze". TheQuint. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
- ↑ Mar 25, IANS / Updated:; 2021; Ist, 19:02. "Sachin Vaze's NIA custody extended till April 3". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ "Sachin Vaze sent to 14 days judicial custody, will be kept in Taloja jail". 9 April 2021. Retrieved 2021-04-09.