Antilia scare: NIA moves court seeking Sunil Mane’s custody

The National Investigating Agency (NIA) on Wednesday sought permission from the special court to take further custody of Mumbai Police inspector Sunil Mane who has been arrested in connection with the Antilia explosives scare and the subsequent murder of Thane-based auto parts dealer Mansukh Hiran

The National Investigating Agency (NIA) on Wednesday sought permission from the special court to take further custody of Mumbai Police inspector Sunil Mane who has been arrested in connection with the Antilia explosives scare and the subsequent murder of Thane-based auto parts dealer Mansukh Hiran.

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NIA sought Mane’s custody to confront him with recently arrested accused Santosh Shelar and Anand Jadhav. The federal agency has claimed that the two arrested accused has played a role as conspirators in killing Hiran.

Mane was arrested by NIA on April 23 and was remanded in judicial custody on May 13. He has been lodged in Taloja prison since then.

On February 25, a Mahindra Scorpio was found abandoned near Antilia, the south Mumbai residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani, with 20 lose gelatin sticks and a threatening note addressed to Ambani family.

A case was registered with Gamdevi police station in connection with the episode. Later, on March 5, Hiran, owner of the SUV, was found dead in creek near Mumbra, with six handkerchiefs stuffed in his mouth and his face covered by a scarf. A separate case was registered with Mumbra police in connection with the murder.

NIA subsequently took over both the cases and clubbed them for investigation purpose. The agency has so far arrested five persons in connection with the two cases, including three Mumbai Police officers — controversial police officer Sachin Vaze; Riyazuddin Kazi, Vaze’s colleague at the criminal intelligence unit (CIU) of Mumbai Police’s crime branch; and inspector Mane.

NIA also arrested former police constable Vinayak More, a life convict in fake encounter killing of Lakhan Bhaiya, and cricket bookie Naresh Gor, both of whom allegedly helped Vaze to execute the suspected murder.

Vaze was originally in charge of the investigation of the Antilia explosives scare case, but was removed after reports emerged of his links with Hiran. It subsequently emerged that Vaze had borrowed the SUV in November and returned it in early February.

According to NIA, Mane was present at the CIU on March 2 and 3 when Vaze purportedly tried to convince Hiran to take the blame for placing the explosives-laden SUV near Antilia. NIA officers claimed that Vaze had assured the trader to get him out on bail in a few days. The plan to eliminate him was allegedly hatched after he refused to get arrested in the case.

NIA also claimed that Mane had made the last call to the victim around 8.30pm on March 4, and had drawn him out of his Thane home on the pretext of a meeting along Ghodbunder Road.

Meanwhile, Mane’s lawyer Aditya Gore moved an application seeking permission to meet him in prison. The plea will be heard on Thursday.