SUV case: NIA arrests Mumbai cop Sachin Vaze

Mumbai police officer Sachin Vaze was late on Saturday night arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the probe into the SUV filled with explosives found near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s house.The arrest came close to midnight after Vaze was interrogated by the NIA for more than 12 hours about the explosive-laden Scorpio that was found outside Ambani’s house on February 25. An NIA spokesperson was quoted by PTI as saying he was arrested allegedy “for his role and involvement in placing the explosives-laden vehicle near Carmichael road”.Vaze was earlier summoned at the agency’s Mumbai office at Cumballa Hill in south Mumbai around 11.30 am to record his statement.The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which is probing the death case, recorded Vaze’s statement earlier this week, in which he has denied using the SUV that was in possession of Hiran.On Friday , he sought a pre-arrest bail, but a Thane court refused to grant interim protection from arrest saying the charges involved serious offences like murder and destruction of evidence.Vaze has been facing heat from opposition party BJP ever since Mansukh Hiran, from whom the SUV had been stolen, was found dead in a creek a few days after the incident. He was accused by Hiran’s wife of involvement in her husband’s suspicious death..The BJP led by former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has been demanding his arrest, while accusing the state government of trying to shield him.The crime branch assistant police inspector was then shifted by the Uddhav Thackeray government to the Citizen Facilitation Centre (CFC) unit of the Mumbai police.Vaze, who was involved in 63 encounters, was suspended in 2004 for the alleged custodial death of Khwaja Yunus. He was reinstated in the service in June 2020 and was heading the CIU of Mumbai crime branch. .He was handling several high-profile cases, news agencies reported, including the TRP rigging scam, fake social media followers case and a car scam involving Dilip Chhabria.
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