Ambani security scare: NIA searches hotel, club in Mumbai, flat in Thane
The NIA conducted searches at ahotel and a club in south Mumbai and a flat in neighbouringThane on Thursday in connection with its probe into the Ambanisecurity scare case, and also detained a woman, an allegedassociate of main accused Sachin Waze, sources said.
A team of the National Investigation Agency, which isprobing the recovery of an explosives-laden Scorpio nearindustrialist Mukesh Ambanis residence and the murder ofbusinessman Mansukh Hiran, reached the Soni building, wherethe hotel and the club are situated, around 12.45 pm.
Customers and staff members of the hotel were asked tovacate the premises, located near the Babulnath temple.
During the search, the NIA sleuths also made enquirieswith a few people at the club and the hotel, the officialsaid. The probe team left the place after over three hours.
Waze, a suspended police official whom the NIAarrested last month in connection with the case, had beenrecently brought by the probe agency to the Babulnath area aspart of its probe, sources said.
Another NIA team conducted searches at a flat inMira Road area in Thane district.
According to sources, the flat was in a womanspossession and was locked for over two weeks, and the samewoman, an alleged associate of Waze, was detained by theagency from the airport on Thursday evening. However, this wasnot officially confirmed by the central agency.
The gelatin sticks found in the vehicle near Ambanishouse had been procured by Waze himself, NIA sources hadclaimed on Wednesday.
The NIA on Sunday recovered a laptop, a printer, twohard disks, two vehicle number plates, two digital videorecorders (DVRs) and two CPUs from the Mithi river here withthe help of divers.
The agency is probing the alleged role of Waze inparking the explosives-laden SUV near Ambanis residence onFebruary 25 and in the murder of businessman Mansukh Hiran.
The body of Hiran, who was in possession of the SUV,was found in a creek in Mumbra town of neighbouring Thanedistrict on March 5.
Meanwhile, a CCTV footage purportedly showing Waze andsuspended police constable Vinayak Shinde seating inside ablack Audi surfaced on Thursday.
The probe agencies so far have seized seven high-endcars used by Waze — the Scorpio found near Ambanisresidence, two Mercedes cars, a Prado Land Cruiser, aMitsubishi Outlander, a Volvo, and an Innova.
The CCTV footage which the NIA has obtained is ofMarch 2 and captured at a toll plaza, sources claimed. Thecentral agency is yet to seize the Audi, they added.
The same car had been earlier found parked at theMumbai Police Commissioners office, sources said.
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