Antilia case: Retired ACP seeks fresh probe into Param Bir’s alleged role

The application, filed on August 25 by Bhimrao Rohidas Ghadge, came up for its first hearing on Tuesday.

MUMBAI: A retired assistant commissioner of police (ACP) has approached the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court, seeking to intervene in the Antilia terror scare and Mansukh Hiran murder case and seeking further investigation into the alleged roles of former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh and cyber expert Ishaan Devesh Sinha.

Former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh. (HT ARCHIVE)

The application, filed on August 25 by Bhimrao Rohidas Ghadge, came up for its first hearing on Tuesday. The court has posted the matter for further hearing on September 4.

Ghadge, a retired ACP who has served in the ATS and Anti-Corruption Bureau, had on July 4 submitted a representation to the NIA’s Mumbai unit, seeking to make Singh an accused in the case. His application states that he was falsely implicated in five offences between 2015 and 2016 when Singh was Thane police commissioner, and was arrested and suspended before being discharged in all the cases. Ghadge says this history left him “well aware” of Singh’s criminal intentions and mindset”.

The application relies on a statement recorded by the NIA in 2021 from cyber expert Sinha, who was involved in tracing online activity linked to the Antilia threat. Sinha told the NIA that he had informed Singh about a Telegram channel called ‘Jaish-ul-Hind’ on which there was a post claiming responsibility for the Antilia scare. He said he also told Singh that the Delhi Police Special Cell had already traced the associated number to activity originating from Tihar Jail.

Sinha said that Singh nevertheless asked him to prepare a report. He later told investigators that his original report which was “very short” (one paragraph) did not contain the Antilia threat poster, but Singh asked him to insert it. Sinha said he modified the report and emailed it to Singh’s official email ID. He said Singh then insisted on paying him and directed his personal assistant to pay him ₹5 lakh in cash for the work.

Investigators later concluded the digital claim was a fabricated attempt to mislead the probe and add a false terror angle. Ghadge has alleged that the NIA failed to adequately investigate Singh’s role despite Sinha’s statement being on record.

Separately, dismissed cop Sachin Waze, the prime accused in the case, on Tuesday challenged the NIA probe as unauthorised for want of prior Centre approval, and questioned discrepancies in its witness lists and its decision to reserve recording statements of alleged victims Mukesh and Neeta Ambani, and sought the station diary before the first witness deposed.

The case pertains to an SUV containing 20 gelatin sticks and a threat note near the Ambani residence Antilia on February 25, 2021. The vehicle belonged to businessman Mansukh Hiran, who had reported it stolen. Hiran was found dead in a creek in Thane on March 5. The NIA alleges that the bomb scare and Hiran’s subsequent killing were part of a conspiracy involving the accused.