Sachin Vaze arrested by NIA in Ambani threat case: What we know so far

Sachin Vaze led the investigation in the Mukesh Ambani security threat case before it was handed over to the Anti-Terrorism Squad of the Mumbai Police, and then the NIA.

Sachin Vaze, an assistant police inspector at the centre of the industrialist Mukesh Ambani security threat case, was on Saturday arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for the alleged conspiracy to plant an explosive-laden vehicle near the billionaire’s home in Mumbai, a top official said.

Assistant police inspector Sachin Vaze was arrested on Saturday. (PTI Photo )

Vaze, who was the lead investigator in the case before it was handed over to the Anti-Terrorism Squad of the Mumbai Police, and then the NIA, was arrested by the central agency at 11:50pm on Saturday after being questioned for nearly 12 hours.

Here’s what we know about the case so far:

1. A sports utility vehicle laden with 20 gelatin sticks and a threatening letter was found parked near Ambani’s residence on February 25. There was, however, no other assembled Improvised Explosive Device (IED) or timer in the vehicle.

2. A Telegram channel was created by “jaishulhind” [Jaish-ul-Hind] on February 26 and a message claiming responsibility for parking the vehicle outside Antilia, where Ambani lives with his family, was posted from that channel.

3. On Saturday, a special cell team of the Delhi Police interrogated Tehsin Akhtar, who is known to be the last chief of the now dormant homegrown terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM), as two smartphones were recovered from his barrack in Tihar Jail. One of these phones was reportedly used to send out the message that claimed responsibility for the explosives found outside the industrialist’s house last month.

4. A 48-year-old auto parts dealer in Thane, Mansukh Hiran, claimed the SUV was his and told the police that it was stolen from the Vikhroli area a week before it was found outside Ambani's house. He was found dead in a creek on the outskirts of Mumbai.

5. Hiran’s widow Vimla named Waze in her statement to the police. She said she suspected the 49-year-old police officer’s role in the matter. She told the investigators the SUV belonged to one Dr Peter Newton, who was known to her husband.

6. The Scorpio was with the Hirans for the past three years and was lent to Waze in November 2020. The vehicle was dropped off by the police official’s driver at Hiran’s shop in Thane on February 5 this year. It has been alleged that Vaze was also forcing Hiran to take responsibility for the case and surrender to the police.

7. Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar reportedly intervened as Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray did not want to take action against the police officer, who had once quit the service and joined the Shiv Sena.

8. Vaze applied for an anticipatory bail in Thane sessions court on Friday, which was rejected by the judge. The court set March 19 as the next date of hearing.

9. The NIA recorded Vaze’s statement to find out the sequence of events as he was initially heading the investigation and also for his connection with Mansukh Hiran who was linked to the vehicle. The Mumbai Police officer went to the central agency’s office a little after 11am and was questioned for nearly 12 hours, before being arrested at 11:50pm.

10. “Sachin Vaze is part of the group that planted the explosive-laden Scorpio on Carmichael Road (near Antilia) on February 25,” a top NIA official told HT, adding that he confessed to his role in the entire episode but refused to share more details at this stage.