The National Investigation Agency on Monday, 5 April, took suspended police officer Sachin Vaze to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in South Mumbai. This was done to recreate the incident where the CCTV footage captured Vaze boarding a train to Thane on the day of Mansukh Hiren’s murder at 7 pm on 4 March.
Hiren, the owner of the SUV that was found laden with explosives outside Mukesh Ambani’s residence, was found dead in a creek on 5 March. Hiren’s car had been stolen from him just days before being discovered outside Antilla, on 25 February.
The NIA took Vaze to Kalva railway station in Thane, and then to CST, after which he was brought back to the NIA office in Mumbai, reported ANI.
Whilst recreating the scene in question, Vaze was asked to walk on platform no 4, and his movements were compared to the man seen in the CCTV footage, told officials to PTI. The entire exercise in CST lasted for an hour. NIA officials took witnesses, forensic experts and the Railway Protection Force.
Vaze was also taken to the Mumbra creek in Thane for an hour, where Hiren’s body was found on 5 March, added the report.
NIA Recovers Many Cars, Cash During Probe
Vaze was arrested on 13 March. He will remain in the custody of the NIA till 7 April for his alleged involvement in the Mukesh Ambani bomb scare case and his alleged role in the death of Mansukh Hiren.
A special court had extended his custody and directed the NIA to provide all medical aid to Vaze. The NIA on Wednesday, 24 March, invoked the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) against Vaze.
So far, the NIA has recovered eight cars linked to Vaze. It has also found several fake registration number plates, a few bags, Rs 5,00,000 in cash, currency counting machines, clothes, etc, from the vehicles from the Mithi river last week.
The NIA took Vaze to the Mithi river in Bandra East, Mumbai, last week to recover evidence that he allegedly tried to destroy.
On Vaze's directions, divers retrieved two CPUs of computers, the number plate of a car, two DVRs, and a laptop, among other things, that were dumped into the river, reported ANI.
The recovered DVRs (Digital Video Recorders) are of his housing society where the Scorpio car was parked between 17 February and 24 February, of shops where various number plates were made, and of other places where Vaze suspected that his movement could have been captured, ANI reported, quoting sources.
Background
The NIA on Saturday, 20 March, took over the case. A formal order from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has been issued to the NIA in this regard, sources told The Quint.
Earlier, on 8 March, the NIA had only taken over the case of explosives being discovered outside Antilia, which is being probed separately. Vaze had been arrested in the explosives case by the NIA.
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Tuesday, 23 March, said that it had found former API Sachin Vaze to be the key conspirator in the alleged murder of Mansukh Hiren.
Addressing the media, Maharashtra ATS chief Jaijeet Singh had said that the two people – Naresh Dhare, a 31-year-old bookie, and Vinayak Shinde, a 55-year-old suspended constable – who were arrested in the case have made Vaze’s involvement in the matter clear.
(With inputs from ANI.)
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