On Wednesday, NIA has invoked the harsh Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) against suspended Mumbai Police officer Sachin Waze in the case involving the recovery of a Scorpio containing explosives near Mukesh Ambani’s home.
The NIA apprehended Waze on March 13 for his alleged involvement in the Ambani residence bomb threat case.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) told a special court in Mumbai last week that Waze was refusing to cooperate in the investigation and insisted on having his lawyer present during interrogation. The NIA objected, claiming that it would “frustrate” the primary purpose of police detention and that access to legal counsel in private cannot be asserted as a general right.
The court, however, did not allow his plea to meet with his lawyer in private, but instead allowed his lawyer to be present during the interrogation, separated by a glass partition so that he could not hear the investigators or Waze.
On February 25, a gelatin-laden Scorpio was discovered 500 meters from Mukesh Ambani’s home, Antilia. The Scorpio was eventually tracked down to Mansukh Hiran, a Thane-based auto decor dealer who claimed the vehicle was stolen on February 18.
Hiran was found dead in a creek near Mumbra on March 5, and the ATS opened an investigation on March 7. During interrogation, Waze told ATS that the Scorpio, which was discovered with explosives near Antilia, was never in his possession and that he had never met Hiran.