Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - Live
Vaze’s former colleagues, SoBo club owner quizzed
Officer who bought a car from Vaze, CIU’s Riyazuddin Kazi among those quizzed
Manish K Pathak & Pranab Jyoti Bhuyan an explosives-laden Scorpio near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence and the murder of Hiran, who is linked to the car, reached the Soni building, where the hotel and the club are situated, around 12.45pm.
Customers and staff members of the hotel were asked to vacate the premises, located near the Babulnath temple. During the search, the NIA sleuths also made enquiries with a few people at the club and the hotel, the official said. The probe team left the place after over three hours.
Vaze, a suspended police official whom the NIA arrested last month in connection with the case, had been recently brought by the probe agency to the Babulnath area as part of its probe, PTI reported. Another NIA team conducted searches at a flat in Mira Road area in Thane district.
The PTI reported that the flat was in a woman’s possession and was locked for over two weeks, and the same woman, an alleged associate of Vaze, was detained by the agency from the airport on Thursday evening. However, this was not officially confirmed by the central agency, PTI stated. NIA has arrested Vaze on March 13 for his purported role in abandoning a Mahindra Scorpio with 20 lose gelatin sticks and a threatening note near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence in Mumbai.
The gelatin sticks found in the vehicle near Ambani’s house had been procured by Vaze himself, NIA officials had claimed on Wednesday, PTI stated.
The suspended Mumbai police officer is also suspected to be the prime accused in alleged murder of Thane auto parts dealer Mansukh Hiran, linked to the SUV. Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS), which earlier probed the murder case, has arrested former policeman Vinayak Shinde and cricket bookie murder Naresh Gor in connection with the murder.
Mansukh’s body was found dumped in a creek at Reti Bunder near Mumbra on March 5, with six handkerchiefs stuffed in his mouth and face covered by a scarf. All his belongings like golden ring, chain, mobile handset, wrist watch and valet were missing.
Shinde and Gor have been arrested on March 21 and are accused of aiding abetting Vaze in killing the 48-year-old trader.
Parambir Singh’s PIL
The Bombay High Court on April 5 will pronounce its order on whether a PIL filed by former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh seeking CBI probe against Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh should be heard further.
Singh’s plea alleged that Deshmukh had asked police officers, including suspended assistant police inspector Sachin Vaze who has been arrested in the case of bomb scare near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence here, to collect ₹100 crore each month from bars and restaurants. The public interest litigation also alleged corruption in police transfers and postings and political interference in probes. A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G S Kulkarni had on March 31 reserved its order on the issue of maintainability of the PIL (whether it should be taken up for final hearing or dismissed at the preliminary stage).
The Maharashtra government’s lawyer argued that the petition was not maintainable as Singh had vested interests and the plea was a result of his transfer from the post of Mumbai police commissioner to Home Guard. The court will also give its ruling in three other petitions filed by lawyers Jayshri Patil and Ghanshyam Upadhyay and professor Mohan Bhide seeking independent probe into Singh’s allegations against Deshmukh.