Top cop Sachin Waze arrested in Mumbai Scorpio bomb case

Sachin Waze has been arrested for his role and involvement in placing an explosives-laden vehicle near Carmichael Road on February 25.

Photo: ANI

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday (March 13, 2021) arrested Maharashtra Assistant Police Inspector (API) Sachin Waze, in the Mumbai Scorpio bomb case. 

The top cop has been arrested under section 286, 465, 473, 506(2), 120 B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and 4(a)(b)(I) Explosive Substances Act 1908.

According to the PTI news agency, Waze has been arrested for his role and involvement in placing an explosives-laden vehicle near Carmichael Road on February 25.

Waze was also summoned to the probe agency's Mumbai office at Cumballa Hill on Saturday morning to record his statement. 

This is to be noted that the NIA took over the case after the mysterious death of Mansukh Hiran, the owner of the said car. The Thane-based businessman had said that his vehicle had been stolen a week earlier. Hiran's wife had claimed that her husband had given the SUV to Waze in November, which the officer returned in the first week of February.

During Waze's questioning by the ATS, he denied using the SUV that was in possession of Hiran.

Earlier on Friday, Waze had filed an application seeking pre-arrest bail and his lawyer had requested the court to grant him the interim protection from arrest on the ground that he was cooperating in the investigation. However, the additional public prosecutor Vivek Kadu, opposed this and argued that the probe in the case was at a crucial stage.

Waze, who was the crime branch's Assistant Police Inspector, has been transferred to the Citizen Facilitation Centre (CFC) unit of the Mumbai police.

The senior cop is also reportedly facing a trial on multiple charges, including murder and destruction of evidence, for the alleged custodial death of Khwaja Yunus in 2003.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Sunday (March 14) said that action will be taken based on the truth that comes out of the investigation. 

(With inputs from news agencies)