Sachin Vaze & Riyaz Kazi sent to judicial custody till May 5; NIA gets Sunil Mane's remand

On Friday, a special NIA court extended the judicial custody of suspended Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Vaze and his ex-colleague Riyazuddin Kazi until May 5. While Kazi is a suspect in the Antilia bomb scare case, Vaze is being probed in connection with the Mansukh Hiren death case as well. Meanwhile, the NIA secured the custody of Mumbai Police's Crime Branch Inspector Sunil Mane till April 28. 

Arrested earlier in the day in connection with the aforesaid cases, he was confronted with the alleged confessions made by Kazi and Vaze in their statements to the central agency. As per sources, Mane was present at a meeting between the suspended APIs and was reportedly involved in passing on SIM cards procured from Vaze to other officials who were involved in the case. Sources added that he allegedly pressurised businessman Mansukh Hiren to take the blame for the Antilia bomb scare. 

Antilia bomb scare and 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 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.