Mansukh Hiren death: Thane Sessions Court orders ATS to stop probe, hand over case to NIA

In a key development on Wednesday, the Thane Sessions Court directed the Maharashtra ATS to stop the probe into Mansukh Hiren's death and hand over the case to the NIA. Hiren, the owner of the explosives-laden Mahindra Scorpio parked outside Mukesh Ambani's 'Antilia' residence in Mumbai, 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, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis produced Call Detail Record claiming that the Assistant Police Inspector was in constant touch with the deceased. 

The court's order came on a plea by the Central agency which complained that the ATS is yet to hand over relevant documents despite taking over the case on March 20. It is pertinent to note that NIA took over the Antilia bomb scare case on March 8 itself 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. 

Here is the copy of the court's order:

Progress in ATS probe

Addressing a press briefing on Tuesday, Maharashtra ATS chief Jai Jeet Singh revealed that more arrests in connection with Hiren's death are likely soon. Elaborating on the progress in the investigation since March 6, he mentioned that Sachin Vaze recorded his statement on March 8 in which he refuted his link to Hiren's death. However, the investigators found evidence establishing that Vaze lied and are ascertaining his role in the conspiracy.

Moreover, Singh disclosed that 14 SIM cards used in the crime have been purchased in the name of a Gujarat-based company on the suspended API's insistence. After it was proven that bookie Naresh Gaur handed over the SIM cards to convicted cop Vinayak Shinde, both of them were arrested at 9 am on March 21. The Maharashtra ATS chief also highlighted that some of the activated SIM cards and the phones in which they were used were destroyed.

He further added that a team of officers had returned from Daman and Diu on Tuesday along with the Volvo car allegedly used in the crime and more suspects. Additionally, Singh said that some of the CCTV footage pertaining to the crime has been deleted. Observing that certain witnesses are ready to record their statements before the Magistrate under Section 164 of the CrPC, he exuded confidence in the ATS getting to the bottom of the conspiracy after the interrogation of Vaze. The ATS had sought Vaze's custody in this regard on March 25, the day when his NIA remand ends. The Thane court also ordered both the ATS to hand over the custody of Gaur and Shinde to the NIA on Wednesday itself.