Soni Satti
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) found a passport at the home of arrested Mumbai policeman Sachin Vaze. It is one of the key items in the Antilia security scare mystery that investigators are seeking to solve.
One of the suspicions being investigated by the agency is that Vaze, also identified as an “encounter specialist,” intended to kill the passport holder and another man.
The NIA suspects that the plot was to pin the SUV containing the gelatin sticks found outside Mukesh Ambani’s house on these two guys, kill them the next day, and pretend to have “solved” the case.
On March 17, the passport was discovered during a raid at Vaze’s residence. Officials involved with the case said the two suspects have a criminal history and were known to Vaze.
According to investigators, the initial plan, was for the two men to drive a Maruti Eeco stolen from Aurangabad and park it outside Antilia with an Improvised Explosive Device inside.
According to reports, the NIA recovered the vehicle’s number plate from the Mithi river.
However, the investigators of the case suspect that Vaze was unable to coordinate this strategy due to a variety of factors, including the fact that he had taken on so many significant inquiries as the head of the Criminal Intelligence Unit.
Investigators believe that Vaze and the other suspects then would have agreed to use the SUV driven by Mansukh Hiran, the car trader who was later found murdered.
The investigating officer stated, “They had changed number plates and even scratched the chassis number of the Scorpio. However, through a sticker of an insurance company on the vehicle, the ATS tracked it down to Hiran, which derailed their plan,”
“So far, it appears that they wanted to encounter the two persons and show that they had averted the threat. Apart from being hailed as heroes, they may have been planning to use it for some profit. We are investigating that lead,”
Investigators suspect that after the plot fell apart, Vaze and his co-accused decided to destroy evidence that could be used to connect them to the incident, such as CCTV videos. Vaze, on the other hand, was concerned that Hiran would be brought for questioning, so he took over his interrogation himself.
Investigators believe that the plan was to make it look like a suicide as when Vaze realised the case might be moved, he and his other accomplices conspired to kill Hiran, who was forced to write a letter claiming he was under mental pressure.
On March 5, Hiran’s body was discovered in a creek. Before the NIA took over the investigation, the ATS had appointed Vaze as the “main accused” in its remand application in the Hiran murder case.