THE CONTINUING MYSTERY

The Antilia incident, the murder of Mansukh Hiran and the explosive letter sent by Param Bir Singh to Uddhav Thackeray have left many unanswered questions

Q. What was the motive for the bomb scare at Antilia?

The NIA has not yet found out why explosives were planted outside Antilia, presumably by Sachin Vaze. One theory is that Vaze was looking to be seen as a hero by pretending to have demolished a terror module; another is that he was acting on instructions from someone else.

Q. Who was his handler?

Many police officers say Vaze could not have taken such a major step without support from within the system. State home minister Anil Deshmukh has alleged that former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh is also a suspect in this case.

Q. Who killed Hiran?

The ATS has arrested two people so far—Naresh Gor, a bookie, and Vinayak Shinde, a policeman, for their alleged involvement in the murder of Mansukh Hiran. The agency has also named Vaze as a prime suspect. Deputy Inspector General Shivdeep Lande claims to have cracked the case, though the agency is yet to reveal the motive behind the murder of Hiran and the names of the other conspirators involved.

Q. On whose orders was Vaze reinstated to the police?

After being suspended for involvement in a custodial death case in 2004, Vaze was reinstated on June 6, 2020 by then Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh. Leader of the opposition Fadnavis has alleged Singh was asked by the political leadership to take Vaze back into the police force.

Q. Was home minister Deshmukh extorting money from businesses?

On March 20, Singh alleged that Deshmukh had met Vaze at his bungalow in mid-Feb. and instructed him to ‘collect’ Rs 100 crore every month from bars, restaurants and other sources in Mumbai. Deshmukh denies this, saying he neither met Vaze nor instructed him to collect money.