The National Investigation Agency (NIA) charged 10 people on Friday, including retired police officers Sachin Waze and Pradeep Sharma, in the case of an SUV found with explosives near tycoon Mukesh Ambani’s residence and the death of businessman Mansukh Hiran.
Vinayak Shinde, Naresh Gor, Riyazuddin Kazi, Sunil Mane, Anand Jadhav, Satish Mothkuri, Manish Soni, and Santosh Shelar are among the other defendants listed in the nearly 9,000-page charge sheet. Shinde had been suspended from the police service in another instance, but Kazi and Mane were both functioning as cops when they were detained. All the defendants are presently in judicial detention. According to the NIA, the accused have been charged under IPC sections for Murder (Section 302), Criminal conspiracy (Section 120B), Kidnapping (Section 364), and careless conduct regarding explosive chemicals (Section286) Forgery (Section 465) Criminal Intimidation (Section 506), as well as Section 3&25 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Explosive Substances Act, and Arms Act.
According to a prosecution lawyer, the charge sheet names 200 witnesses.
The NIA, after taking over the investigation, combined three First Information Reports (FIRs) filed by the Maharashtra Police, according to the statement.
The first FIR was filed at Gamdevi police station in February this year after an SUV with gelatin sticks and a threat letter was discovered on Carmichael Road in south Mumbai near Ambani’s multi-story home Antilia.
A second FIR was filed at Vikhroli police station about the suspected theft of the same SUV — a Mahindra Scorpio — from Thane businessman Mansukh Hiran’s custody. After Hiran’s body was discovered in a creek, the third FIR was filed at Mumbra police station in Thane. Evidence concerning the 10 detained accused’s involvement in different phases of the plot to put the explosives-laden SUV, its (previous) theft, and subsequent murder of Mansukh Hiran came to light during probe, said NIA.
On February 25, 2021, the SUV was discovered near Antilia. Mansukh Hiran, who claimed the car had been taken from him, was discovered dead in a Thane stream on March 5. Sachin Waze, a former Mumbai crime branch officer known as a “encounter specialist,” was detained as the primary suspect and eventually discharged from the force. Sharma, again another former encounter specialist officer, had already left the service.
On June 9, the special NIA court in here granted the Central agency a two-month delay to submit its charge sheet. On August 5, another thirty-day extension was granted after the NIA stated that the probe was still ongoing.