ANTILIA BOMB SCARE: VAZE APPLIES FOR DEFAULT BAIL

MUMBAI: Dismissed Mumbai Police officer Sachin Vaze has questioned the extension granted to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to file a charge-sheet against him in the Antilia explosives scare case and connected murder of Thanebased auto parts dealer Mansukh Hiran. Vaze has sought bail citing the federal agency’s failure to file a charge sheet against him in a stipulated time of 90 days from the date of his arrest. The court has posted the application for hearing on July 22.

Court sources said Vaze has recently sent an application from jail directly to the special NIA court seeking bail.

Vaze was arrested on March 13 and acting on a plea filed by NIA, the special court had on June 9, granted the federal agency two more months to file a charge sheet against the accused.

The sources said Vaze has also questioned this grant of extension to NIA to file a charge sheet against him.

NIA has responded to Vaze’s plea that since the extension has already been granted by the special court, Vaze’s plea was not maintainable.

Vaze was arrested on March 13 after in connection with an explosives-laden Scorpio found near Antilia, south Mumbai residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani on February 25 and subsequent murder of the owner of the SUV, Thane based auto parts dealer Mansukh Hiran.

Vaze was originally in charge of the investigation of the explosives case but was removed after reports emerged of his links with Hiran, who was in possession of the SUV and reported it stolen on February 17, 2021. Hiran himself was found dead in a creek on March 5. It subsequently emerged that Vaze had borrowed the car in November and returned it in early February.

NIA took over the explosives case on March 8 and the murder case on March 24.