Sachin Vaze allowed to turn approver in corruption case against ex-Maha minister Anil Deshmukh

Mumbai: A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Wednesday approved the application of dismissed police officer Sachin Waze to turn `approver` against other accused including former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh in an alleged corruption case.

The court has ordered Waze to appear before it on June 7. The dismissed police officer had appealed to the court to become an approver. Waze has sought to become an approver in the corruption case and has requested to be pardoned and made an approver.

Both Waze and Deshmukh are in judicial custody in separate cases by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), respectively. NIA arrested Waze in March in connection with the investigation into the recovery of explosives from a car parked near Mukesh Ambani`s house in Mumbai. 

Waze is the prime accused of placing an explosives-laden vehicle near Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani`s house Antilia in Mumbai on February 25. Meanwhile, Deshmukh was arrested on November 1 in connection with extortion and money laundering allegations levelled against him by the former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh.

In a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in March last year, Singh had alleged that Deshmukh was involved in several wrongdoings, including asking Sachin Waze to collect Rs 100 crore from bars and restaurants in Mumbai.