Waze sent to NIA custody until April 3; being made a scapegoat, he tells court

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has got further custody of suspended police officer Sachin Waze till April 3.

Sachin Waze, who was arrested in the Mukesh Ambani’s explosives scare case, has been under NIA custody for his links with Mansukh Hiran, the man who owned the SUV which was found with explosives parked outside Mukesh Ambani’s home Antilia.

Waze’s remand was however ending today (March 25). Even as the NIA sought to extend his custody, Waze told the NIA special court that he is being made a “scapegoat” and he had nothing to do with the case, said media reports.

Waze said that he was an investigating officer in the case for just one day and he investigated the case, as it should be investigated. Now, suddenly these charges have come upon him, he said, adding that the Crime Branch and Mumbai police team also investigated the case.

Also read: Mukesh Ambani bomb scare: NIA books Sachin Vaze under UAPA

The suspended cop told that the court that he was suddenly arrested and now it is being said that he had accepted the crime. This was not true, Waze told the court, which asked him to put this down in a statement.

Meanwhile, investigators told the NIA court that they had found considerable amount of ammunition in Waze’s house and they required his further custody to be able to question him. They revealed that sixty-two unaccounted bullets were found from Waze’s house. Only 5 of the 30 bullets given for his service revolver have been found.

The accused was not telling where the rest went, the NIA added.

The investigators also found evidence that Waze had met Mansukh Hiran in Fort area on February 17, NDTV reported quoting sources. This was allegedly when Hiran had handed Waze the keys to his vehicle, which he later claimed was stolen.

CCTV footage in Fort shows Hiran getting into a Mercedes car the same evening, after he had parked his Scorpio vehicle at Vikhroli highway. The NIA suspects that the man in the Mercedes was Waze and they had met so that Hiran could hand over the Scorpio keys to him.

Also read: FIR filed after vehicle with explosives found near Mukesh Ambani’s house

Hiran’s statement to the police was recorded by Waze, while he was heading the Crime Intelligence Unit. But at the time, he failed to record his February 17 meeting with Hiran.

The Anti-Terror Squad is also investigating Waze’s role in the sudden death of 45-year-old Hiran, an auto parts dealer, whose body was found near a creek near Mumbai on March 5. His family had reported that he had gone missing a few days earlier.

At the NIA court, even as Vaze told the court not to send him to police custody since he had cooperated with the investigation to date, the NIA told the court that they have taken Waze’s blood samples for DNA purposes. They accused him of destroying evidence as well.

The NIA wanted his custody so that they could make him face the men arrested in the Hiran death case.

Waze’s lawyer also argued at the NIA court today that there was insufficient evidence to add the anti-terror law, the UAPA in this case. He said that gelatin was recovered from the car and that alone cannot be used to make explosives. Hence, they should not apply UAPA in this case.