News Analysis India

Tag: Mansukh Hiren

  • MVA discusses Deshmukh’s future; Julio Ribeiro refuses to probe Param Bir’s letter

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, state unit NCP chief Jayant Patil, and Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut separately met NCP supremo Sharad Pawar in Delhi on Sunday evening in view of former Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh’s allegations of corruption against state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.

    The meetings took place hours after Pawar told reporters that Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will decide the fate of Deshmukh, an NCP leader, amid speculation in state political circles that Maharashtra may soon have a new home minister.

    Singh has claimed Deshmukh wanted police officers to collect Rs 100 crore monthly from bars and hotels in Mumbai.

    Deshmukh had denied these allegations as baseless.

    However, what transpired during the meetings at Pawar’s residence in Delhi could not be known.

    Earlier in the day, Raut told reporters in Mumbai that allegations of Singh against Deshmukh and the Sachin Waze episode have dented the image of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the state.

    Waze was arrested by the NIA, which is probing the recovery of an explosives-laden vehicle from outside the south Mumbai residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani last month and also the alleged murder of businessman Mansukh Hiran, the purported owner of that SUV.

    Raut said all allies- the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress- need to introspect if their “feet are on the ground”.

    “Anil Deshmukh’s side also needs to be heard before taking any decision on him. We will take a decision on Deshmukh by tomorrow,” Pawar told reporters.

    Jayant Patil, who is also the state Water Resources Minister, had said that the Delhi visit was planned three days ago.

    “The Pandharpur Assembly bypoll is scheduled next month. Ajit Pawar and I decided to meet party workers in Solapur district to know their views over the selection of candidate and the party strategy, and then meet Pawar saheb in Delhi with the feedback before returning to Mumbai,” he said.

    “Accordingly, both of us are in Pandharpur to discuss issues related to the bypoll with party workers,” he said. The Pandharpur bypoll is scheduled to be held on April 17. It was necessitated due to the death of NCP MLA Bharat Bhalke last year.

    Meanwhile, Congress sources said Central leaders of the party are in touch with leaders in Maharashtra on the developments regarding Deshmukh.

    A Congress leader told PTI on Sunday night that the CM was in touch with all prominent leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance in view of Singh’s letter.

    “I don’t think Anil Deshmukh will be asked to resign, as it will amount to accepting the allegations made against him,” he said.

    Meanwhile, former IPS officer Julio Ribeiro on Sunday rejected NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s suggestion that he should probe Singh’s claim that Home Minister Anil Deshmukh asked suspended police officer Sachin Waze to collect Rs 100 crore every month.

    ALSO READ | Won’t be fair to comment as NCP chief has spoken: Congress on graft charges against Deshmukh

    “I am not available. Nobody (in state government) has contacted me. And in any case even if they contact me, I am unavailable,” Ribeiro told PTI when asked about Pawar’s suggestion.

    “I am 92 years old. Nobody goes around doing this work at the age of 92. If the inquiry is against the home minister of Maharashtra, then Mr Pawar should make it because he is the head of the (ruling) party,” Ribeiro said.

    Ribeiro is a former Mumbai police commissioner, who eventually became the chief of Gujarat and Punjab police and was later named India’s ambassador to Romania.

    “Why should a retired police officer be asked to do this,” he said.

    Earlier in the day, Pawar told reporters in Delhi that he would suggest Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to seek Ribeiros help to investigate the claims made by Singh.

    In a letter to Thackeray, Param Bir Singh alleged that Anil Deshmukh instructed suspended Mumbai police officer Sachin Waze to collect Rs 100 crore every month for him.

    Pawar’s comments came during a media briefing at Delhi amid speculation in state political circles that Maharashtra may soon have a new home minister.

    The allegations leveled by Singh against Dehsmukh are serious and require an in-depth probe, Pawar said.

    Singh has claimed that Deshmukh wanted police officers to collect Rs 100 crore monthly for him from bars and hotels.

    Pawar indicated that Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will take a decision in this matter soon and also action against Deshmukh.

    “We will take a decision on Deshmukh by tomorrow,” Pawar said.

    Deshmukh’s side also needs to be heard before taking any decision, he added.

    Pawar said neither Thackeray nor Deshmukh were responsible for reinstatement of police officer Sachin Waze in the police force last year.

    The NCP chief said he has spoken to Thackeray regarding Singh’s letter.

    ALSO READ | BJP workers hold protests for resignation of Maharashtra Home minister Anil Deshmukh

    “I would suggest Thackeray to seek former IPS officer Julio Ribeiro’s help for looking into the claims made by Param Bir Singh,” he said.

    Ribeiro rejected the idea, saying he is unavailable for this kind of work.

    “I am 92 years old. Nobody goes around doing this work at the age of 92. If the inquiry is against the home minister of Maharashtra, then Mr Pawar should make it because he is the head of the (ruling) party,” Ribeiro told PTI.

    Pawar said Singh had complained to him aboutpolitical interference in police department.

    He said Singh had spoken of reports about his transfer, saying it would be an injustice to him.

    Pawar said Singh made the allegations after his transfer on March 17 to the Home Guards.

    There is no impact on the MVA government because of Singh’s allegations, Pawar said.

    Efforts are on to destabilise the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government in Maharashtra but they will prove futile, he added.

    In the eight-page letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Singh alleged that Deshmukh used to call police officers to his official residence and give them a “collection target” from bars, restaurants and other establishments.

    Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut admitted that the allegations made by Singh against Deshmukh and about the Waze case have tainted the image of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the state.

    Raut saio all the MVA allies need to introspect if their feet are on the ground.

    Former chief minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said Pawar was trying to save the Maha Vikas Aghadi government amid allegations of corruption leveled by Singh against Deshmukh.

    “How were important postings and cases given to Waze without the knowledge of the chief minister and the home minister?” Fadnavis told reporters in Nagpur.

    Waze is in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for his alleged role in placing an explosives- laden SUV outside the south Mumbai residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani last month.

    The NIA is also probing the alleged murder of Thane- based businessman Mansukh Hiran who was in possession of that SUV.

    ALSO READ | Allegations against Deshmukh: Sharad Pawar trying to save Maha govt, says Fadnavis

    “As the architect of the MVA government, Pawar is trying to save it, Fadnavis said and reiterated his demand for resignation of Deshmukh and a court-monitored probe into the allegations made by Singh.”

    “Waze (a former encounter specialist who was suspended after the alleged custodial death of bomb blast suspect Khwaja Yunis in 2003) was reinstated by a committee headed by Param Bir Singh. But how is it possible that he got important cases and postings without the knowledge of the CM and the home minister?” Fadnavis said.

    Former MP Sanjay Nirupam said his Congress party must take a stand on Singh’s claim that Deshmukh wanted police officers to collect Rs 100 crore monthly from bars and hotels.

    Meanwhile, BJP workers on Sunday staged demonstrations in various parts of the state demanding Deshmukh’s resignation over Singh’s letter.

    BJP workers led by former state energy minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule staged protests at Sanvidhan square in Nagpur and raised slogans against the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

    A demonstration was organised by BJP Yuva Morcha wokers outside Deshmukh’s residence in Nagpur.

  • Security scare to Ambanis: NIA likely to take over Mansukh Hiren death case

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  Amid intense opposition pressure on the Maharashtra government, the NIA is likely to take over the probe of Mansukh Hiren death case that is linked to the bomb scare outside Mukesh Ambani’s residence.

    The central agency is already investigating the case of explosive-laden SUV being found near Antilia last month and had arrested encounter specialist Mumbai police officer Sachin Waze in this connection.

    Since the two cases are interlinked, opposition BJP has been demanding that the Hiren death case should also be handed over to the NIA. Waze, alleged to be involved in both cases, is currently suspended.

    Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh met NCP chief Sharad Pawar in Delhi on Friday and briefed him about the developments related to the two cases. Deshmukh, whose handling of the entire affair has come under scrutiny, said the police would cooperate with the NIA in the entire case.

    “NIA and ATS (Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad) both are probing the case. Whoever is guilty will be punished… Necessary action will be taken by the state government after the NIA completes its probe,” he said.

    Two senior NIA officials Inspector General Anil Shukla and Superintendent of Police Vikram Khalate met the new Mumbai police commissioner Hemant Nagrale on Friday afternoon.

    ALSO READ | Ambani security scare: Waze, Hiran seen meeting on the day Scorpio was ‘stolen’

    Also, a forensic team from Pune reached Mumbai on Friday to investigate the vehicles, shirt, bottles etc. seized by the NIA team.

    Meanwhile, a Thane sessions court denied relief to Waze and adjourned his anticipatory bail application filed in connection with Hiren’s death for hearing on March 30.

    A special NIA court in Mumbai also rejected his plea to meet his lawyers privately while in NIA custody. The agency told the court that the officer was not cooperating in investigation.

    Waze is in NIA custody till March 25. The ATS has also demanded his custody.

    As per Waze’s call records and CCTV footage obtained by the ATS, the officer met Hiren twice before the bomb scare incident.

    CCTV footage recovered from a spot near CSMT showed that the two had met on February 17, the day Hiren’s SUV was allegedly stolen, an ATS official said.

    Waze and Hiren came separately, sat in a Mercedes (which has since been seized by the NIA) for about 10 minutes and then left. The ATS suspects that Hiren handed over the SUV’s keys to  Waze during this meeting, sources said. 

  • ‘Marathi Manoos’ agenda evident in Hemant Nagrale’s selection as Mumbai top cop

    Express News Service
    MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has been pitching the son of the soil Marathi manoos agenda while appointing top administrative and police officials in the state.

    After the arrest of API Sachin Waze, Thackeray shunted out Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh and brought back the DG of Maharashtra Police, Hemant Nagrale into the fold.

    Another Marathi, Vishwas Nagare Patil was earlier appointed Joint Police Commissioner (law and order), while Milind Bharambe became Joint Commissioner (crime). Maharashtra’s chief secretary Sitaram Kunte is also a Marathi manoos.

    Before Nagrale was appointed Police Commissioner, the NCP had almost zeroed in on Rajnish Seth for the post.

    “But the CM overruled and insisted Marathi manoos Nagrale be the man for the job. When Singh was chosen earlier, Thackeray was reluctant. But NCP chief Sharad Pawar insisted on him. Thackeray is keen on the Marathi manoos concept, which helps him expand his party base,” said a source.

    Sanjay Pandey, Maharashtra’s senior-most cop, had slammed the Maha Vikas Aghadi government for ending his career.

    He had said he was the senior-most and still not appointed commissioner.

    He was given the insignificant posting of head of Maharashtra state security cooperation. In a complaint to Thackeray, Pandey had said injustice had been done to him.

    Surendra Jhondale, professor of political science at Mumbai University, said Shiv Sena was born with the Marathi manoos agenda. Now that they are in the government, they are pursuing it more aggressively.

    “But Thackeray is also checking out the efficiency and uprightness of the officers while appointing them in crucial posts. This government is constantly fighting with the powerful government at the Centre. So Thackeray and Pawar need trusted lieutenants who will not succumb to Delhi’s pressure,” said Jondhale.

  • Security threat to Ambanis: Sachin Waze suspended, more heads may roll in SUV case

    Express News Service
    MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government on Monday suspended Sachin Waze, the ‘encounter specialist’ police officer allegedly linked to the seizure of an explosives-laden SUV found near Mukesh Ambani’s residence on February 25. 

    The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had arrested the assistant police inspector on Saturday.

    The officer is in NIA custody till March 25. On Monday he was admitted to JJ Hospital for a check-up.

    The officer’s suspension came after NCP chief Sharad Pawar and CM Uddhav Thackeray met at the latter’s residence on Monday. Sources said Pawar was concerned about the handling of the sensitive case. The state capital was abuzz with speculation that more heads could roll in the episode. 

    Sources said “big names” in Mumbai Police and other departments are likely to be suspended for their “mysterious role” in the entire episode. The ruling alliance is reported to be unhappy with Mumbai police commissioner Parambir Singh. 

    Pawar also met his party’s ministers and told them not to hesitate in taking actions against senior officers.

    “He is not happy with Home Minister Anil Deshmukh for his causal approach in handling the Waze case,” said a source. 

    “Pawar saheb told us to act against those officers who are not following government orders and misusing their powers. He directed us to enforce discipline in various departments. Otherwise, it would be difficult for ministers to remain in their position,” said a minister who was part of the meeting.

    ALSO READ | Ambani bomb scare case: NIA investigating if person in CCTV grab is Sachin Waze

    NCP leaders on Monday reportedly also discussed the party’s likely candidate to replace Deshmukh post. “NCP state unit chief Jayant Patil, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and Health Minister Rajesh Tope are the frontrunners. Pawar’s daughter and MP Supriya Sule has put her weight behind Tope who has a clean image,” said a source.

    Officially, though, the party denied replacement talks with Patil saying “there is no question of home minister Anil Deshmukh being replaced”.

    In another development, Waze’s brother filed a ‘habeas corpus’ petition in the Bombay High Court challenging his arrest and claimed that he was being made a “scapegoat” by “certain political powers”.

    The plea, moved by his lawyer Sunny Punamiya, sought a direction to the NIA to produce Waze before the HC and to prove that due procedure was followed during the arrest.

    The police officer was not provided a copy of the FIR and he was also not explained the reasons for arrest, nor was his family informed, the petition said.

    The haste with which he was arrested showed that the central agency acted with malafide intentions, it alleged.

    The NIA is probing the recovery of an explosives-laden Scorpio near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s multi-storey house `Antilia’ here last month.

    The case was taken over by the NIA after the mysterious death of Thane-based businessman Mansukh Hiren who had claimed the vehicle had been stolen from his possession.

    The petition said the allegations made by Hiren’s wife, blaming Waze for her husband’s death, were false.

    After the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad registered an FIR against him, the “entire media fraternity and society started targeting” him as they wanted a “scapegoat to pin this entire conspiracy on”, Waze claimed.

    The petition is yet to be listed for hearing.

    Meanwhile, arguing before a special court here, the NIA denied that Waze had been detained illegally before the arrest.

    ALSO READ | Family came to know about Sachin Waze’s arrest through media: Cop’s brother

    The special court had remanded Waze in the custody of the central agency till March 25 on Sunday.

    Waze’s lawyers had alleged during the remand hearing that he was illegally detained by the NIA officials from 11 am on Saturday and shown as arrested only late at night.

    During the hearing on Monday, the NIA told the court that Waze was summoned by NIA officials on Saturday as he was the previous investigating officer of the SUV recovery case.

    There were several discrepancies in case documents such as memos, seizure documents and station diary but Waze gave evasive answers when questioned, said special prosecutor Sunil Gonsalves.

    He had come to the NIA office even without his mobile phones, the prosecutor said.

    Since Waze did not provide satisfactory explanations about his probe, he was placed under arrest around 11.50 pm on Saturday, the agency claimed.

    On Waze’s allegation that his family was not informed, the agency said he refused to give their contact details, so his police station was informed about his arrest.

    On defence’s demand for CCTV cameras in the interrogation room, the NIA claimed that there are CCTV cameras in all the rooms at their office.

    The defence lawyers asked the agency to submit the same in writing before the court.

    The hearing will continue on Tuesday.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Family came to know about Sachin Waze’s arrest through media: Cop’s brother

    Sudharma Waze also alleged that his brother Sachin is being implicated in the case.

  • Bomb threat to Ambanis: NIA to present Mumbai cop Sachin Waze before court on Sunday

    By ANI
    MUMBAI: The National Investigating Agency (NIA) will present Sachin Waze, an assistant police inspector with the Mumbai Police who was arrested in connection with the investigation into the recovery of explosives from a car parked near Mukesh Ambani’s house in Mumbai, before a special court on Sunday to demand his custody.

    This came days after Waze, was who was leading the investigating of Mansukh Hiren’s death in the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU), was transferred to the Citizen Facilitation Centre at the Mumbai Police Headquarters.

    “Sachin Waze API Mumbai Police Crime Branch has been arrested for his role and involvement in Placing an explosives-laden vehicle near Carmichael Road (near Mukesh Ambani’s house) on 25th February 2021,” said an official statement of NIA.

    Waze was summoned to the NIA office on Saturday to record his statement, in connection with the recovery of explosives from a car parked near Mukesh Ambani’s house in Mumbai. Later, he was arrested under section 286, 465, 473, 506(2), 120 B of the Indian Penal Code, and 4(a)(b)(I) of the Explosive Substances Act 1908.

    In 2004 also, Waze was arrested and suspended from service in connection with Khawja Yunus custodial death case. He and other cops were named in the charge sheet.

    After his release , the controversial joined the Shiv Sena and after 16 years of suspension, he had joined the Mumbai police again in 2019 in crime branch. 

    Earlier on Saturday, sensing his arrest, Waze had posted an emotional post on his WhatsApp DP.

    “3 March 2004, fellow officers from the CID arrested me in the false case (see the box to know more about this Khaja Yunus case). That arrest inclusive till date, sending the history is going to repeat. My fellow officers are on to falsely trap me. There is a slight difference in the scenario. Probably, I had 17 years of hope, patience, life and service too. Now, I will have neither 17 years of further life nor service nor patience to live. I think the time to say goodbye to the world is coming closer,” He said in his message.

    The Opposition earlier demanded the Waze’s arrest in connection with Mansukh Hiren death case while the government transferred him from Crime Branch to another department.

    The encounter specialist also approached the Thane session court for anticipatory bail.

    In his bail plea, Waze said that the fraudulent case has been made against him to trap and end his career.

    He also claimed that he has nothing to do with what mentioned in FIR against him.

    “On the basis of falsified information in FIR, no one can be arrested. There is no substance in allegations made against him. He was staying in Thane so he knew Mansukh Hiren that cannot be the criteria to arrest me. I have no connections with Mansukh Hiren death case,” Waze stated in his plea.

    However, the Court refused to give interim relief to Sachin Waze and asked the concern authorities to submit the probe report.  

    A car carrying unassembled explosive materials was found abandoned at Carmichael Road in South Mumbai on February 25, near the house of Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani.

    Hire, the owner of the vehicle, was found dead in a creek in the Thane district on Friday. Now, ATS Maharashtra is investigating the case.

    Hiren’s wife blamed Waze for her husband’s death and demanded a high-level inquiry. She also alleged that the cop was pressuring her husband to get arrested in the bomb scare case.

    (With ENS Inputs)

  • Mansukh Hiren death: Trouble for Deshmukh as Maharashtra Cabinet rejig on cards

    Express News Service
    MUMBAI: With questions being raised on Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh’s handling  of crucial and sensitive cases like the bomb scare near Mukesh Ambani’s residence Antillia, talks of replacing him have started and are gathering momentum within the NCP.

    According to reports, during the Assembly session, the Maharashtra government was said to be on the backfoot over Mansukh Hiren death and suspected role of encounter specialist cop Sachin Waze.

    If a senior NCP leader is to be believed, Sharad Pawar is of the view that keeping a non-performing minister in the Cabinet will not only will damage the government but also his party’s image.

    “Light-weight Anil Deshmukh was made the home minister because of the pressure of his party colleagues, but he has failed in the first year only. On the other hand, the Opposition is getting hold of every crucial information related to Hiren death case, including the CDR details between Sachin Waze and deceased. It also got the locations record. In Dadra Nagar Haveli MP  suicide case also, Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis got the suicide note before the home minister. That shows things are not working for Deshmukh,” said a source.

    Meanwhile, Vaze has denied that he was using the Scorpio which was in possession of Mansukh Hiran, a senior Maharashtra Anti- Terrorism Squad (ATS) official said on Thursday.

    The ATS, which is probing Hiran’s mysterious death, recorded Vaze’s statement earlier this week, he said.

    ALSO READ | Mansukh Hiran’s death was carefully planned murder: Devendra Fadnavis

    Hiran’s wife had claimed that her husband had given the SUV to Vaze in November, which the Mumbai crime branch officer returned in the first week of February.

    On February 25, the SUV was found near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s house in south Mumbai with explosives and a threat letter inside.

    Hiran had claimed that it had been stolen a week earlier, but the case got murky when he was found dead in a creek in Thane on March 5.

    Vaze, accused by Hiran’s wife of involvement in her husband’s suspicious death, was shunted out of the Mumbai crime branch on Wednesday.

    Meanwhile, the investigators have yet to trace the Innova car in which the man who parked the Scorpio near Ambani’s house is seen leaving the spot in CCTV footage, another official said.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Bomb threat to Ambanis: Fadnavis demands Mumbai cop’s arrest as SUV owner’s wife claims foul play

    By Express News Service
    MUMBAI: Maharashtra Assembly on Tuesday saw noisy scenes as leader of opposition Devendra Fadnavis demanded the arrest of a police officer in the Mansukh Hiran death case, and Home Minister Anil Deshmukh blamed the former chief minister for “covering up” the Anvay Naik suicide case.

    Fadnavis demanded action against API Sachin Vaze in connection with the death of Hiran who was in possession of the SUV with explosives found outside industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s house in south Mumbai.

    The Naik suicide case, in which journalist Arnab Goswami had been arrested, was raked up, with the home minister saying the government will probe the “cover-up” of the case by then chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

    The House was adjourned seven times with MLAs ignoring COVID-19 norms of physical distancing and use of masks.

    A Scorpio, with 20 gelatin sticks inside, was found near Antilia, Ambani’s high-rise residence in south Mumbai, on February 25.

    Police said the vehicle was stolen from Hiran’s possession on February 18.

    The mystery deepened after Hiran’s body was found in a creek last Friday in neighbouring Thane.

    Citing the statement by Hiran’s wife, Fadnavis claimed that Vaze was in possession of the car for four months.

    “The Innova car which was behind the Scorpio is in Mumbai as per my information.

    Give me some time, I will trace it,” he added.

    Fadnavis claimed that Hiran’s wife had alleged in her statement to police that her husband may have been killed by assistant police inspector Sachin Vaze.

    “She told police that her husband knew Vaze and the Scorpio was with the police officer from November 2020 to February 5, 2021,” Fadnavis said.

    “She had also said her husband was with Vaze on February 27, 28 and March 2.

    The complaint letter (of Hiran) addressed to the chief minister, deputy chief minister and police commissioners of Mumbai and Thane was written on the instructions of Vaze,” Fadnavis alleged.

    The BJP leader claimed that Hiran’s last location was found with Dhananjay Vithal Gawde, against whom an FIR was lodged in an extortion case.

    The other person mentioned in the same FIR was Sachin Vaze, Fadnavis added.

    As Fadnavis raised the Hiran case, minister and Shiv Sena leader Anil Parab sought the arrest of those named in Delkar’s suicide note.

    Delkar (58), a seven-term MP from the Dadra and Nagar Haveli, was found dead at a hotel on Marine Drive in south Mumbai on February 22.

    The home minister announced formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe Delkar’s death.

    Deshmukh said Delkar had mentioned in the suicide note that he was under pressure from the Union Territory’s administrator Praful Kheda Patel who had been a minister in the Narendra Modi-led cabinet in Gujarat.

    ALSO READ | Something fishy: Uddhav Thackeray on NIA taking over Ambani bomb threat probe

    Fadnavis said Vaze was being protected as he belonged to the ruling party.

    Vaze had joined the Shiv Sena in 2008 while under suspension.

    Vaze was suspended in the Khwaja Yunus custodial death case and but was reinstated in his job last year during the COVID-19 lockdown, Fadnavis said.

    “When I was the chief minister, the issue of reinstating Vaze had come up but the advocate general had advised against it,” Fadnavis said.

    While announcing the SIT probe in the Delkar case, home minister Deshmukh said the MP had said in the suicide note that he was ending his life in Mumbai as he had faith in Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra government.

    “Earlier, IAS officer Rajesh Kumar Shrivastav from Madhya Pradesh had ended his life in Nagpur in Maharashtra, the minister said.

    “This officer felt he will not get justice in Raipur, in a BJP-ruled state,” Deshmukh said.

    BJP members were quick to point out that the officer was from Chhattisgarh and not Madhya Pradesh.

    “The home minister feels happy that people come to Maharashtra to commit suicide. He doesn’t even know Raipur is in Chhattisgarh and not in Madhya Pradesh,” Fadnavis said.

    Deshmukh said he had already corrected himself.

    Fadnavis wondered if the home minister wanted Maharashtra to be known as a place where people come to die.

    “Is this a matter of pride,” the BJP leader asked.

    ALSO READ | NIA takes over case of explosives-laden vehicle found near Ambani residence

    Jumping into the debate on the Mansukh Hiran death case, Nana Patole of the Congress asked how did Fadnavis get hold of the call data record (CDR), and how an unidentified vehicle could reach so close to Ambani’s house.

    Patole also asked on what basis Fadnavis said the vehicle found outside Ambani’s house did not have explosives.

    Bhaskar Jadhav (Shiv Sena) said the BJP was targeting Vaze as he had arrested Goswami in the Naik suicide case.

    Deshmukh said Fadnavis’s own role in the “cover-up” of that case will be probed.

    Fadnavis said the government was resorting to threats to save Vaze, and dared it to order a probe against him.

    As noisy scenes continued despite several adjournments, the House was adjourned for the day.

    Meanwhile, Vimla Hiran, wife of Mansukh Hiran, has alleged in her statement to the ATS that Vaze might have killed her husband.

    The police officer did not offer comment immediately on the allegations.

    After a Scorpio with explosives was found near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s house in south Mumbai on February 25, Hiran, a Thane resident, had claimed it had been stolen from his possession a week earlier.

    Hiran himself was found dead in Thane creek on March 5.

    Vimla Hiran recorded her statement before the state Anti-Terrorism Squad, which is probing the case, on March 7.

    According to the statement, the Scorpio, owned by Dr Peter Newton, was in the possession of the Hiran family for the past three years with Dr Newton’s consent.

    ALSO READ | Bomb threat to Ambanis: Mansukh Hiren’s family must get justice, says Congress

    Her husband knew API Vaze who was a regular client of Mansukh’s car decor business, she said.

    In November 2020, he had given the Scorpio to Vaze to use, Vimla Hiran said, adding that the police officer returned it on February 5, 2021, through a driver.

    Her husband had then told her that the steering of the SUV was hard, she said.

    On February 17 Mansukh left for Mumbai in the SUV for business-related trip, but as the steering got jammed, he left it after crossing the Mulund toll plaza and took a cab, she said.

    The next day when he returned to the spot with one of his employees, it was missing, so he lodged a complaint of car theft at Vikhroli Police Station, she said.

    On February 25, when the SUV with gelatin sticks was found near Ambani’s house, her husband got a call from an ATS inspector, she said.

    Mansukh and their son Lucky then went to meet the officer near their building, she told the police.

    The officer showed him a picture of the SUV and Hiran identified it.

    He later told her that he went with Sachin Vaze to the Mumbai police’s crime branch the next morning for inquiry and returned around 10.30 pm with Vaze.

    He showed her a copy of his recorded statement which also bore the name and signature of Vaze, Vimla told the ATS.

    On March 2, Mansukh told her that he had gone to Mumbai with Vaze, and on his insistence filed a complaint addressed to the Chief Minister, Home Minister and police commissioners of Mumbai and Thane about harassment faced from the media and police, her statement said.

    She asked him if he had been tortured and Mansukh denied, but said he was constantly getting calls.

    On March 3 he told her that Vaze had asked him to get arrested in the case and assured that he (Vaze) will get him out on bail within 2-3 days, the statement claimed.

    She advised him against doing any such thing and he seemed tensed, she told the ATS.

    On March 4, her husband called his brother Vinod Hiran and said he needed a lawyer to apply for anticipatory bail as he feared arrest, Vimla said in the statement.

    He returned home early the same day, and said he had to go out again as a police officer named Tawde wanted to meet him, she said.

    He was going to Ghodbunder Road to consult the police who were their well-wishers, he assured her.

    Mansukh left in an auto rickshaw and after 11 pm his phone became unreachable, so she called Vinod Hiran.

    Vinod called Vaze who advised him to wait till morning, she said.

    Next day Vinod filed a missing person complaint and around 3.30 pm her son informed her that Mansukh’s body has been found in the creek, she told the ATS.

    Her husband was a good swimmer so he could not have drowned in the creek, she stated.

    She suspected that her husband might have been killed by Sachin Vaze, Vimla Hiran said in the statement, demanding a thorough probe.

    Speaking to reporters in Mumbai on Tuesday, API Vaze said he would go through her allegations and only then respond.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Bomb threat to Ambanis: Mansukh Hiren’s family must get justice, says Congress

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Congress on Sunday said the family of Mansukh Hiren, who was in possession of the vehicle that was later found with explosives outside the residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani, must get justice at the earliest.

    The car, a Scorpio, with 20 gelatin sticks inside was found near ‘Antilia’, Ambani’s multi-storey residence in south Mumbai, on February 25.

    Police had said the vehicle was stolen from Airoli-Mulund Bridge on February 18.

    Hiren (46) was found dead in a creek in neighbouring Thane on March 5.

    The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has taken over the probe into the entire matter.

    State Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant in a statement expressed hope that the ATS will go into the root of the case of Hiren’s death and unravel the “conspiracy” behind it.

    “The family of Mansukh Hiren must get justice at the earliest,” he said.

    Sawant said the ATS was a competent agency to conduct probe into the case.

    Calling the BJP an “irresponsible party”, Sawant asked “how did the CDR (call detail records) in the case reach the BJP”? He said the BJP was not showing trust in the state police by demanding that the case be handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

    BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Friday sought an NIA probe into the case.

    Sawant said after actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death last year, several allegations were levelled and that case was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

    “Till today, the allegations made haven’t been substantiated. Will the BJP apologise?” Sawant asked.

    Earlier, officials on Saturday said the autopsy report of Hiren reserved the opinion on the cause of death.

    The viscera of Hiren has been sent for forensic analysis, they said.

  • Owner of explosives-laden car abandoned near Mukesh Ambani’s house found dead

    Express News Service
    MUMBAI:  The owner of the explosives-laden vehicle involved in the bomb scare outside Mukesh Ambani’s residence Antilia last week was found dead on Friday. While the BJP demanded that the NIA should probe the entire matter, the Maharashtra government handed over the investigation to the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).

    The body of Mansukh Hiren, 45, the owner of the Scorpio that was packed with gelatin sticks and parked near Antilia  on February 25, was found in a creek at Mumbra, Thane, on Friday morning. According to his family, he had gone missing on Thursday night.

    Raising the issue in the Assembly, the Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis demanded that the case was sensitive and be handed over to the NIA. However, home minister Anil Deshmukh said the police was competent to probe the case.

    Fadnavis said the SUV owner was a key witnesses and his death had deepened the mystery. The SUV was stolen on February 18 and in his statement to the Crime Branch, Mansukh had said he lodged a police complaint after the theft. 

    Fadnavis claimed that Mansukh had in his statement said he had visited Crowford market when there was a bomb scare near Ambani’s residence.  “We want to know why the Scorpio owner came to Crawford market? Whom did he meet there? All of these questions need to be investigated. We also got information that the same person had also called Sachin Waze, the investigating officer of this case, twice in June and July last year.”