Antilla Bomb Scare: Why and how Sachin Vaze eliminated Mansukh Hiran

New Delhi, Sep 08: The National Investigation Agency in its explosive chargesheet filed in connection with the Antilla Bomb Scare case said that dismissed cop Sachin Vaze had orchestrated the entire incident with an intention of establishing himself as a super cop.

The NIA further said that Vaze had played a key role in the killing of businessman Mansukh Hiran. He had directed Hiran to file an FIR with regard to the theft of the Scorpio vehicle, which was used to place the explosives outside the residence of Mukesh Ambani.

The NIA said in its chargesheet that as per the orders of Vaze, the vehicle was piloted by a witness in the official Innova vehicle of the Mumbai crime branch. He was designated as the investigating officer in the case wha manipulated the investigation to cover up the conspiracy, the NIA also said.

Vaze himself attempted to make Hiran a conspirator in placing the explosive laden vehicle on Carmichael Road and tried to convince him to accept responsibility. When he refused to do so, Vaze conspired to kill him, the NIA also noted.

Vaze along with the other accused persons held meetings in the Commissioner of Police's office to execute the murder of Hiran. He arranged for the killers to eliminate Hiran, the NIA said in the chargesheet.

Vaze then used his contacts among journalists to circulate the news that Hiran had died by suicide. He also used the money that he had collected through extortions to fund the commission of the crime, the NIA noted.

The NIA said that on Vaze's instructions, Hiran had on February 17 filed a case before the Vikhroli police stating that his scorpio was stolen. Vaze drove that vehicle and took it to his residence in Thane.

However after this point Hiran refused to play along and this promoted Vaze to hatch a conspiracy to eliminate him. On March 3, Vaze handed over a bag containing cash and a SIM to former encounter specialist, Pradeep Sharma at his PS Foundation Office in Andheri. Sharma handed over the cash to his associate Santosh Shellar and this was used to arrange for a vehicle and recruit others. Shellar then got in touch with Anand Jadhav, Satish Mothkuri and Manish Soni. The NIA had earlier told the court that the amount paid to execute this operation was Rs 45 lakh.

Hiran then received a call on March 4 from a person who identified himself as inspector Tawde. He asked him to meet on Ghodbunder Road in Thane. He then drove Hiran to Dwaraka hotel and handed Hiran to Shellar who was waiting in a car. In the moving car, Mothkuri who was seated in the last row grabbed Hiran and inserted handkerchiefs in his mouth while the rest held his hands. This was reported to the NIA by Soni, who turned approver in the case.

After this they drove the vehicle to the Kasheli bridge in Thane and threw the body in the creek.

Following this they went to a hotel and had dinner. Prior to disposing his body, they removed the gold chain, purse and watch. This was done because they did not want him to be identified if the body began to float. Vaze was present at the CGM hospital in Kalwa when the postmortem took place the NIA said while adding that this was done to keep a tab on the proceedings.