COURT REJECTS NIA’S PLEA FOR VAZE’S CUSTODY

MUMBAI: The special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Monday rejected the plea of the central agency, seeking the custody of dismissed police officers Sachin Vaze and Sunil Mane, arrested in the Antilia explosives scare and Mansukh Hiran murder cases. The court also allowed Vaze to undergo a coronary artery bypass graft surgery at a private hospital. The court also permitted Vaze’s plea for home food for 60 days, if the doctors recommend the same.

NIA special prosecutor Sunil Gonsalves argued that as per the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the agency can demand Vaze and Mane’s custody, who are currently in judicial custody in Taloja jail for 30 days.

“A large amount of cash has been seized in the case and we need to find out its origin in a reverse trail. It’s a pre-planned conspiracy and the suspects have also played a key role. Now Vaze and Mane need to be confronted on the new material available,” said Gonsalves.

Senior counsel Sudeep Pasbola and Raunak Naik, for Vaze, opposed NIA’S plea and said all the grounds mentioned in the application for the custody were repetitive and nothing new or substantial was said in it.

“The agency’s application doesn’t have merits. Why do they require confronting the two when they had Mane’s custody for so many days? They have all the cash and documents; they can verify whatever they want. The investigation has not progressed anywhere,” Mane’s counsel told the court.

When the court asked Vaze if he wanted to say anything, he said, “Please do not let me die like Stan Swamy [Elgar Parishad accused].”

Judge Sitre then allowed Vaze to undergo the surgery at the private hospital and report to the court in 15 days about his condition.