ATS gets Vaze’s transfer warrant

Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) chief Jaijeet Singh on Tuesday said that suspended police officer Sachin Vaze was a “prime accused” in the Mansukh Hiran murder case and the agency has procured a transfer warrant from a Thane court with which it will approach the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court to get his custody

Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) chief Jaijeet Singh on Tuesday said that suspended police officer Sachin Vaze was a “prime accused” in the Mansukh Hiran murder case and the agency has procured a transfer warrant from a Thane court with which it will approach the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court to get his custody.

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Vaze is in NIA custody till Friday for allegedly planting an SUV with 20 loose sticks of gelatin and a threatening letter outside industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s home last month. Hiran, a Thane-based auto spare parts dealer who was linked to the car, was found dead at the Reti Bunder Creek on March 5.

Speaking to reporters at a press conference outside the agency’s office in south Mumbai, Singh said that more arrests were likely in the case.

“Vaze is in NIA’s custody till March 25. As it is necessary to thoroughly interrogate him in connection with the crime, a transfer warrant has been obtained from the chief judicial magistrate at Thane and a comprehensive application has been filed before the special NIA court at Mumbai. We are sure that after thoroughly interrogating him, the ATS will reach to the bottom of the crime and unearth the conspiracy,” Singh said.

The ATS on March 21 arrested two men, Vinayak Shinde, a convicted constable on parole in an encounter case, and bookie Naresh Gor in the murder of the 48-year-old spare parts dealer.

“It has come to light in the investigation that some of the 14 SIM cards obtained through accused Naresh Gor were activated and given to Shinde, who in turn had transferred the activated SIM cards to others involved in the crime and the SIM cards were used in commission of the said crime. Preliminary investigation has revealed that some of the SIM cards used in commission of the crime and some of the mobile handsets in which those SIM cards were used, were destroyed by the accused,” Singh said.

ATS had also claimed to have detained a person from Ahmedabad who had allegedly provided SIM cards to the accused.

ATS had interrogated Vaze on March 8, following a statement by Vimla, Hiran’s wife, accusing the suspended cop of having a hand in her husband’s death. Her statement also revealed that Vaze and Hiran knew each other well and that Vaze had borrowed the Scorpio that was later found outside Antilia, for four months between November 2020 and February 2021. Hiran had reported the car stolen on February 18. Following Vimla’s statement, ATS registered a murder case against unknown persons.

“In interrogation, Vaze refuted all the allegations levelled against him. He claimed that the SUV had never been in his possession and also maintained that he had nothing to do with the victim. He denied having any involvement in the said crime and that he had no knowledge about the said crime. But ATS officials have collected evidence showing that the claims made by Vaze are false and further probe is on to find out his exact involvement in the said crime,” Singh said.

The ATS chief said it was Vaze who had contacted Shinde when the latter was out on parole last year and took his help.

According to ATS, Shinde contacted Hiran, posing as “Tawde sahab from Mumbai crime branch” on the evening of March 4, the day before Hiran’s body was found in a Thane creek. “Preliminary investigation suggests that Shinde along with others was involved. A Volvo car seized from Daman is suspected to have been used in the crime,” the ATS chief said. The Forensic Science Laboratory at Kalina examined the car on Tuesday.

A team of forensic officers from Pune also visited Thane on Tuesday along with ATS officials. The forensic team examined the blue-coloured Volvo seized by ATS. The officials refused to talk but collected several samples from the car for over two hours. “The team did not find any documents or equipment in the car. They were collecting fingerprints, footprints and any other evidence which will help in the probe,” an official said.

ATS has also obtained CCTV footage from various spots even though the accused destroyed some CCTV footage in a bid to destroy evidence of their movement, officials said. “To understand how exactly the crime was committed, a demonstration was conducted by taking the accused at the crime scene. Analysis of the information collected by raiding the residences, offices and godowns of the arrested accused is going on,” Singh said.

Meanwhile, NIA is also conducting a parallel probe in the Hiran murder case as well as the explosives case. A team searched the premises of a room in Trident hotel, where Vaze reportedly stayed between February 16 and 20. According to a senior NIA officer, Vaze was captured in CCTV footage entering in the hotel carrying five bags. The bags have not been recovered as yet, the officer said.

inputs from Anamika Gharat