Mansukh Hiren Death Case: Hard Disk, Car Number Plates Found in Mumbai River; Vaze on Site as NIA Probe On

On Thursday, the NIA had told the court that a substantial amount of ammunition was recovered from Vaze’s home including 62 bullets for which he could not account.

Mumbai: Sachin Vaze — arrested suspended police officer in the Ambani bomb scare case, as well as key accused in the murder of Thane businessman Mansukh Hiren — was on Sunday taken to to the bridge over Mithi river at Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to probe into the Mansukh Hiren death case. During a search for evidence, divers recovered two number plates, a laptop, a computer CPU and a hard disk, along with other items.

Vaze was arrested on March 13 and sent to the NIA custody for allegedly planting explosives in an SUV parked outside Mukesh Ambani’s Mumbai residence, Antilia. The SUV recovered was owned by deceased businessman Mansukh Hiren. He was found dead in a creek in Thane on March 5.

#WATCH | Maharashtra: Divers of NIA recover computer CPUs, two number plates carrying the same registration number, and other items from Mithi river in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex as the agency probes the death of Mansukh Hiren.

Accused Sachin Waze is also present at the spot pic.twitter.com/RXq2d4cCMP

— ANI (@ANI) March 28, 2021

The NIA is questioning Vaze, who will remain in its custody till April 3.

On Thursday, the NIA had told the court that a substantial amount of ammunition was recovered from Vaze’s home including 62 bullets for which he could not account. “Only 5 of the 30 bullets given for his service revolver have been found. The accused is not telling where the rest went,” the probe agency told in court.

The NIA also sent Vaze’s voice samples and some video clips showing him to the Forensic Science Laboratory to further investigate.

Meanwhile, Vaze, ex-assistant police inspector with Mumbai crime branch, said he had been made a “scapegoat” and has “nothing to do with the case”.

“I was investigating officer of the case for one and a half days, and did whatever I could in that capacity. But there was suddenly a change in some plan somewhere. I went to the NIA office on my own and was arrested,” he told the court.

At the same time, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut indicated that a judicial inquiry may be instituted to probe former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh’s allegations that state home minister Anil Deshmukh had asked Vaze and other police officers to collect money from bars and hotels.