MUMBAI
Suspended Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Vaze, who is lodged at the Taloja Central Jail, has filed for bail at a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in connection with the death of Mansukh Hiran, linked to a car found next to Mukesh Ambani’s residence.
He sought bail on the grounds that the Central agency had not filed a charge sheet in the case within the mandated 90 days as per The Code of Criminal Procedure.
The NIA opposed the plea and said the case involved serious charges and it needed more time to file the charge sheet. The case was adjourned to July 22.
An SUV with 20 gelatin sticks was found on February 25. The police said the car was stolen from Airoli-Mulund Bridge on February 18.
The car’s owner, Hiran, an auto parts dealer, was found dead on March 5 in Kalwa creek. The case was transferred from the Maharashtra police to the NIA on March 8.
Mr. Vaze was arrested on March 13 for his “role and involvement in placing the explosives-laden vehicle near Carmichael Road.”
On March 12, a sessions court in Thane rejected Mr. Vaze’s pre-arrest bail in Hiran’s murder.
Mr. Vaze is known as an ‘encounter specialist’ in the Mumbai police. He was suspended for 17 years after being arrested over the custodial death of a 27-year-old software engineer Khwaja Yunus. He was later granted bail after 58 days in custody.
He was reinstated in June 2020, on the grounds that officers were needed in the force. He led the Raigad police team to arrest editor-in-chief of Republic TV Arnab Goswami in the case of death of architect Anvay Naik and was probing the television rating points manipulation case as a crime branch officer.
He has been charged under provisions of the Indian Penal Code, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and the Explosive Substances Act.
