News Analysis India

Tag: Mukesh Ambani

  • Mukesh Ambani security scare: NIA arrests one more Mumbai cop

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The NIA on Friday arrested Mumbai police inspector Sunil Mane in connection with the recovery of an explosives-laden SUV near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence here and the murder of businessman Mansukh Hiran, an official said.

    With this, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has so far arrested three police officers in Mumbai, including suspended assistant police inspector Sachin Waze and his colleague Riyaz Kazi, in connection with these cases.

    “Mane was called by the NIA for questioning on Thursday in connection with the Ambani security scare and Mansukh Hiran murder cases,” the official said.

    He was arrested after his involvement came to light, he said.

    Mane will be produced in a court, the official said.

    Following his arrest, Mane was taken to a state-run hospital for medical check-up, he added.

    The central agency had earlier arrested two more persons- suspended Mumbai police constable Vinayak Shinde and cricket bookie Naresh Gor.

    Mane, who was in charge of Unit-11 (Kandivali) of the Mumbai crime branch, was transferred in the wake of the Ambani security scare case.

    The NIA had recorded his statement a few weeks ago, the official said.

    Mane had been questioned by the Maharashtra Anti- Terrorism Squad (ATS), but senior officials had then claimed that he was cooperating with it in the investigation.

    The explosives-laden SUV was found near Ambani’s house in south Mumbai on February 25.

    Hiran, a Thane-based businessman, had claimed that he was in possession of the SUV, but the vehicle had been stolen before its recovery near Antilia, Ambani’s multi-storey residence.

    Hiran’s body was found in a creek in Thane on March 5.

    Hiran’s widow, Vimla, in her statement to the ATS had said that while leaving home on March 4, her husband had told her that he had received a call from ‘Tawade’, a police officer from Kandivali and he was going to meet him.

  • Deshmukh’s aides grilled in extortion case; NIA arrests Sachin Waze’s associate

    By Express News Service
    MUMBAI: The CBI on Sunday questioned two personal staffers of former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh in connection with the allegations of extortion leveled against him by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh.

    Deshmukh’s personal assistant Kundan Shinde and personal secretary Sanjeev Palande appeared before the CBI team in connection with its ongoing preliminary enquiry at the DRDO guest house in Santacruz.

    Parambir Singh, in his explosive letter, had claimed that Palande was present when Deshmukh had allegedly asked Sachin Waze to extort Rs 100 crore each month from various bars and restaurants in Mumbai. Waze, too, in his statement to the NIA had claimed that Shinde was present during one such conversation. Waze has since been arrested by the NIA in the Antilia bomb scare case.

    The CBI has so far recorded the statements of Singh, Sachin Waze, DCP Raju Bhujbal, ACP Sanjay Patil, advocate Jayshree Patil, a petitioner, and hotel owner Mahesh Shetty. Singh had moved the Bombay High Court after he was shunted out as the Mumbai Police Commissioner and dissed by Deshmukh.

    Taking note of the serious ness of the allegations, the HC had ordered a preliminary enquiry into the case by CBI and set a 15-day deadline for its report. Hours after the April 5 HC order, Deshmukh had resigned from the cabinet.

    Meanwhile, the NIA on Sunday arrested police officer Riyaz Kazi, an associate of suspended cop Sachin Waze, in connection with the case of an explosives-laden SUV found near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence, a police official said.

    After his arrest, Kazi was produced before a holiday court here which remanded him in the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) custody till April 16 for further probe into the case.

    “Assistant police inspector (API) Kazi was called for questioning again by the NIA on Sunday and later placed under arrest,” the police official said.

    He was previously also questioned multiple times by the NIA in connection with the case of the SUV with explosives found near Ambani’s multi-storey residence ‘Antilia’ in south Mumbai on February 25 and the subsequent death of Thane businessman Mansukh Hiran.

    Kazi was shunted out of the Mumbai Crime Branch last month, the official said.

    After Kazi was presented in the court on Sunday, the NIA told the court that he was arrested for destroying evidences and that he is involved in the conspiracy of the case along with Waze, the main accused in the case.

    While seeking his remand for 10 days, the prosecution said that when the NIA startedconducting a parallel probe soon after explosives-laden vehicle was found, the accused allegedly killed Hiran fearing that he will disclose their plan.

    The prosecution also submitted that Kazi was well aware of the crime.

    After the case was transferred to the central agency, the accused started destroying evidences like CPU and DVR and others, the NIA told the court.

    Kazi’s custody is required to confront him with every recovered article, documents, witnesses.

    Waze has given half the facts andKazi’s interrogation iss required to find out under whose guidance he destroyed the evidence, it said.

    He also needs to be interrogated about the source of the gelatin sticks (found in the SUV).

    Opposing the remand plea, Kazi’s lawyer, Hasnain Kazi, argued that his client was not involved in the destruction of evidence.

    The accused has been going to the NIA office for interrogation since the last20 days and co-operating with theinvestigation, hence his custody was not required, the lawyer said.

    After hearing both the sides, the judge remanded the accused to NIA’s custody till April 16.

    According to police, in a CCTV footage, Kazi was seen entering a number plates shop in suburban Vikhroli and having a conversation with the outlet’s owner.

    He was also seen taking away a digital video recorder and a computer of the shop.

    Kazi was also seen collecting CCTV footage from Waze’s housing complex in neighbouring Thane, the official said.

    The probe agency suspects that Kazi assisted Waze in obtaining fake number plates used for the SUV found with explosives near Ambani’s residence in south Mumbai, he said.

    Hiran, who was in possession of the SUV, was found dead in a creek in Thane on March 5.

    The NIA arrested Waze on March 13 in connection with its probe into the case.

    The probe agency had also arrested former policeman Vinayak Shinde and cricket bookie Naresh Gor.

    All the three are currently in judicial custody.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Security threat to Ambanis: Ajit Pawar refutes charges made against him by Waze; CBI seeks access to case papers

    By PTI
    PUNE: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday said the allegations made by suspended police officer Sachin Waze against him in a letter were completely false and he had neither met the cop nor spoken to him ever.

    Pawar called for an inquiry into the allegations to make things crystal clear.

    His remarks come a day after Waze claimed in his letter that he was approached by one Darshan Ghodawat, who introduced himself as a “very close circle person” of junior Pawar, and insisted him (Waze) to collect a monthly amount of Rs 100 crore from illegal gutka sellers.

    “I laughed when I saw my name in the letter. I never met him (Waze), nor I have spoken to him ever. Everyone knows my strict working style. So conduct an inquiry,” Pawar told reporters.

    “Let there be an inquiry and there will be ‘doodh ka dhoodh, pani ka pani’ (things will become crystal clear),” he said, adding that the allegations made in the letter were completely false.

    He was speaking on the sidelines of campaigning for the upcoming bypoll for the Pandharpur-Mangalvedha assembly constituency.

    Waze, who was reinstated in the police force last year, made the sensational claim in a letter which he tried to submit before a special NIA court in Mumbai on Wednesday.

    However, special judge PR Sitre refused to take his letter on record.

    Waze, an accused in the case of an explosives-laden car found near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence in south Mumbai and the death of businessman Mansukh Hiran, is currently in the National Investigation Agency’s custody.

    Pawar added that an attempt to destabilise the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was on.

    “For the last three days, it has been going on that another wicket will fall (another minister will resign). I do not understand how these people can know such things in advance,” he said.

    When asked about the blame game that is going on between Centre and the state over the supply of COVID-19 vaccines, Pawar said the state is not getting enough number of vaccines.

    “In haste, the Centre sent vaccines to other countries. I can understand that the neighbourly relations need to be maintained with other countries, but at the same time, the Centre should fulfil the states’ requirement,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the CBI on Thursday approached a special NIA court here seeking access to papers of the case related to bomb scare at Mukesh Ambani’s house for its preliminary enquiry into allegations of corruption against former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.

    The CBI’s latest plea came a day after special NIA judge PR Sitre allowed the central agency’s application to question Waze.

    Waze (49) was arrested on March 13 for his alleged role in the case of an explosives-laden SUV found near industrialist Mukesh Ambanis house, ‘Antilia’, in south Mumbai on February 25 and the subsequent death of Thane-based businessman Mansukh Hiran.

    The CBI claimed documents related to the explosives case will aid it in questioning Waze.

    The special court kept the matter for hearing on Friday.

    Following an order of the Bombay High Court, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) late Tuesday night registered a preliminary enquiry (PE) to probe corruption allegations levelled by former Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh against Deshmukh.

    Singh was shifted from the post of Mumbai police commissioner to the Home Guards department on March 17.

    The IPS officer later filed a petition in the HC seeking a CBI probe against Deshmukh, alleging the NCP leader had asked Waze and other police officers to extort Rs 100 crore from restaurants and bars.

    Deshmukh, who has rejected allegations levelled against him, resigned from the cabinet on April 5 after the HC order.

  • Ambani security scare probe: National Investigation Agency questions club owner

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The National Investigation Agency on Friday recorded the statement of the owner of a club in connection with its probe into the case of an explosives-laden SUV found near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence and businessman Mansukh Hiran’s death, an official said.

    The agency had conducted searches at the ‘social club’ located inside a hotel in south Mumbai on Friday.

    The NIA is probing alleged links of its owner with cricket bookie Naresh Gor and suspended police constable Vinayak Shinde, the official said.

    The club owner was seen arriving at the NIA office around 11 am and left around 4.50 pm.

    Gor and Shinde, alleged associates of suspended Mumbai police officer Sachin Waze, have been arrested in the businessman Mansukh Hiran murder case.

    Waze’s former colleagues in the Mumbai crime branch assistant inspectors Riyazuddin Kazi and Prakash Howal also appeared before the NIA.

    Both have been questioned multiple times.

    The NIA, which is probing the recovery of an explosives-laden Scorpio near Ambani’s residence here on February 25 and the murder of Hiran who had claimed that the vehicle had been stolen from his possession, has already arrested Waze.

  • Ambani security case: NIA raids Mumbai club, recovers documents used for dubious SIM cards

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The NIA Thursday conducted searches at a club over the alleged murder of businessman Mansukh Hiran, whose car was used in creating a security scare outside industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence, and recovered crucial documents pertaining to the SIM cards used by suspended police officer Sachin Waze, officials said here.

    They said the searches were carried out at ‘Aashish Club’ run by a person identified as Devajit who is alleged to have employed one of the accused in the case, Naresh Gor, on Waze’s instructions.

    The officials said that Waze had instructed Naresh to procure SIM cards for his personal use.

    Naresh is alleged to have procured the SIM cards from the neighbouring state of Gujarat and these were handed over to Waze through co-accused Vinayak Shinde, the officials said.

    One of these SIM cards was used by Waze to give a call to Hiran, which turned out to be the last call before the businessman was killed.

    The body of Hiran, who was in possession of the SUV used in the security scare incident, was found in a creek in the Mumbra town of the neighbouring Thane district on March 5.

    During the searches on Thursday, documents pertaining to the SIM cards were seized from the club, besides some other material that indicated that alleged kickbacks being paid to government servants, the officials said.

    They said Hiran was allegedly killed by Waze after reports started surfacing that the case would be handed over to the central agency for probe.

    Initial investigations suggested that Hiran was called to a place where he was made unconscious with the help of some drugs before being smothered to death.

    His vehicle was found outside Ambani’s house in Mumbai on February 25 with gelatin sticks and a threat note.

    The NIA has said in the court that Waze had taken the car from Hiran before allegedly planting the explosives and parking it outside Ambani’s house on February 25.

    Waze was arrested on March 15 by the NIA and is at present in the custody of the agency till April 3.

    The Maharashtra ATS, which was initially probing the Hiran murder case, had arrested Gor and Shinde.

    This case was also taken over by the NIA and the duo are in the custody of the agency till April 10.

  • Mansukh Hiran death: Aurangabad man claims number plate recovered by NIA belongs to his vehicle

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: A resident of Aurangabad in Maharashtra has claimed one of the number plates recovered by the NIA from the Mithi river in Mumbai belonged to his van which was stolen last year, a police official said on Tuesday.

    The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is probing the cases of the recovery of an explosives-laden SUV found outside the south Mumbai residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani last month and subsequent murder of businessman Mansukh Hiran, the purported owner of that vehicle.

    The probe agency on Sunday took suspended Mumbai Police officer Sachin Waze to the Mithi river here and recovered two digital video recorders (DVRs), two CPUs, a laptop, two hard disks, two number plates and a printer with the help of divers.

    Vijay Nade, an Aurangabad resident who works as clerk with the social justice department in Jalna, approached the City Chowk police station in Aurangabad on Monday after he started getting calls from journalists about the number plate of his vehicle, the police official said.

    One of the number plates, which was dumped into the river, belonged to Nade’s vehicle, he said.

    His vehicle was stolen from Aurangabad in November last year and he had lodged a case of theft at the City Chowk police station there, the official said.

    “There is an FIR of vehicle theft on November 17 last year. So far, there is no communication from the probe agency (NIA), but we will provide all assistance to them in the case,” Aurangabad City Chowk police station’s senior inspector Sambhaji Powar said.

    Nade told PTI on Tuesday he had lodged a complaint of van theft and has CCTV footage of that incident.

    “I had submitted all the documents and related evidence to police, but they were not able to trace the vehicle. Suddenly, on Monday, I got information from journalists about the number plate of my vehicle recovered from the Mithi river,” he said.

    It is suspected that Assistant Police Inspector Riyazuddin Kaazi had told the NIA during his interrogation that these evidences were thrown into the Mithi river.

    Kaazi, who is close to Waze, was questioned by the NIA multiple times in recent past.

    It was Kaazi who allegedly took away the DVR from Waze’s housing society on the latter’s instructions.

    The body of Hiran, a resident of Thane, was found in Mumbra creek on March 5.

  • NIA officials take Sachin Waze to Thane creek where Mansukh Hiran’s body was found

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Officials of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday evening took suspended police officer Sachin Waze to Reti Bunder creek in Thane where businessman Mansukh Hiran’s body had been found.

    The NIA, which has now taken over both the Ambani security scare case as well as the Hiran murder matter, got further custody of Waze till April 3 earlier in the day.

    In the evening, some seven or eight officials took Waze to the spot where Hiran’s body had been found on March 5, a local police official said.

    On Wednesday, the NIA had taken custody from the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) of suspended police officer Vinayak Shinde and cricket bookie Naresh Gaur in the Hiran case.

    Waze was arrested by the NIA on March 13 in connection with the Scorpio with gelatin sticks and threat letter found near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s house in south Mumbai on February 25.

    Hiran had claimed that this Scorpio had been stolen from his possession a week earlier.

  • Mansukh Hiran murder: ATS takes accused to crime spot, detains man in Gujarat

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Monday took an acused arrested in the Mansukh Hiran murder case to the creek where his body was found, and also detained a person from Gujarat who had provided them SIM cards, officials said.

    The ATS last week arrested suspended policeman Vinayak Shinde and cricket bookie Naresh Gaur in the case.

    The SUV with explosives found near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s house here had been allegedly stolen from Hiran’s possession.

    According to the ATS, Mumbai police officer Sachin Waze, now suspended and in custody of the NIA, has emerged as the prime accused in the Hiran case.

    “Shinde was taken to Retibunder area near Mumbra creek where Hiran’s body was found (on March 5),” an ATS official said.

    “Also, our team traveled to Ahmedabad and detained a man from whom the accused had got SIM cards for use in the crime and also seized some of the cards,” he added.

    On Sunday, ATS DIG Shivdeep Lande had posted a message on Facebook stating that the Hiran murder case had been cracked.

    Shinde was convicted in the 2006 Lakhan Bhaiya fake encounter case and came out of jail on furlough last year.

    He was allegedly in touch with Waze, who himself was once known as `encounter specialist’ officer, since then.

    Apparently it was Shinde who had called Hiran from suburban Kandivali by identifying himself as “Tawde saheb” on March 4, the day before the Thane-based businessman’s body was found in the creek, the ATS official said.

    Waze is currently in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) which is probing the recovery of the vehicle containing gelatin sticks and a threat letter which was found parked near Ambani’s multi-storey residence ‘Antilia’.

    The Union Home Ministry on Saturday handed over the Hiran murder case to the NIA, but the ATS officials, as of Monday, were still sharing details of their own probe.

    “Sachin Waze is a prime accused in the Hiran murder case. He had played a key role. During the probe, the ATS found that Gaur had provided five SIM cards to API Waze and Shinde for the crime. Shinde used to help Waze in his illegal activities,” an ATS official had said earlier, claiming that the arrest of Shinde and Gaur was a major breakthrough.

  • Ambani security scare: Gelatin sticks in SUV capable of only low-intensity blast, says forensics

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) at Mumbai’s Kalina has found in its preliminary analysis that the gelatin sticks recovered from the Scorpio parked near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s house were capable of triggering only a low-intensity blast and there was little chance of them causing any big damage, an official said on Saturday.

    During the analysis, the FSL found ammonium nitrate inside the gelatin sticks, he said.

    “The lab found ammonium nitrate inside the gelatin sticks. The preliminary analysis suggests that this explosive is capable of triggering a low-intensity blast and there is a little chance of any big damage due to it,” the official said.

    This kind of explosive is used in rural areas for digging wells, in road construction work and for other such purposes, he said, adding that the lab would submit its report to the concerned agency in the next two days.

    The Kalina FSL is also analysing the SUV, in which the 20 gelatin sticks were found.

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

    “With the help of chemical experts, the FSL will try to find out is the vehicle’s chassis number to know whether it was changed.

    It will help us know the real owner of the SUV and in whose name it was registered,” the official said.

    The lab will check the entire vehicle linearly to find out if there is any stain of blood, hair or anything lying inside the car that may help the investigators to know the person who was driving the car and other occupants of the car, if there were any, when it was parked near Ambani’s house, he added.

    The FSL is also in the process of analysing the viscera samples of Thane-based businessman Mansukh Hiran, who was in possession of the Scorpio that was found parked near Ambani’s multi-storey residence ‘Antilia’ on February 25.

    Hiran’s body was found in a creek on March 5. “The lab is trying to ascertain if anyone gave Hiran any type of drug before his death,” the official said.

    Mumbai police officer Sachin Waze has been arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on March 13 in connection with the recovery of the explosives-laden vehicle.

    The suspended assistant police inspector is also facing a probe in Hiran’s alleged murder.

    The Maharashtra Anti- Terrorism Squad (ATS) is investigating the case.

  • 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.