SUV bomb scare case: How Mansukh Hiran was trapped and murdered

The National Investigation Agencyrsquos NIA charge sheet filed in the Antilia bomb scare case raises a crucial question who is the main conspirator of the entire conspiracyThe central agency in the charge sheet mentions that dismissed police officer Sachin Waze booked a room at Oberoi hotel in the name of one Sushant Khamkar for 100 nights as he thought it would be a safe place to plan and execute the plot At the same time the NIA states that Waze is one of the main conspirators in the case but does not mention who are the other key conspiratorsldquoThe purpose of the stay in the hotel from February 16 to February 20 2021 was part of the planningimplementation of the Antilia conspiracyrdquo the charge sheet readsOn the intervening night of February 24 and 25 Waze parked the explosivesladen Scorpio near Antilia Waze removed the original number plate of the Scorpio and fixed a fake number plate belonging to the Reliance Industries which was part of the security convoy of Mukeshrsquos wife Nita AmbanildquoWaze wanted to give the Ambani family a direct threat with dire consequencesrdquo read the charge sheetOn February 17 Waze directed Mansukh to park the vehicle on a service road near the flyover of Airoli Junction and hand over the key to him near the police commissioner office in south Mumbai Hiran followed his instructionsAccording to the NIA on February 17 Waze with the help of his personal and official drivers parked the Scorpio at his residence in Thane ldquoThe accused Waze has impressed upon the driver that the said act was part of secret operation by CIUrdquo charge sheet further readsThe charge sheet has not shown the involvement of dismissed officers Pradeep Sharma and Sunil Mane in the Antilia case They have been linked to the murder of businessman Mansukh Hiran but they along with the accused who killed him are charged under UAPA Act as the murder was the direct outcome of the terrorist act committed by WazeOn March 3 Waze met Sharma at his Andheri office and gave a bag containing a large amount in cash bundles of currency notes of Rs 500 Sharma then contacted Shelar who arranged red Tavera on rent of Rs 1000 and the same vehicle was used to kill HiranHow Hiran was grabbed and dispatchedSunil Mane1 Dismissed officer Sunil Mane posing as a Crime Branch officer Tawde called Mansukh Hiran near Suraj Water Park at Ghodbunder road in Thane around 830 pm on March 4 Hiran who at his shop then left on his bike for home to inform his wife GraphicAparna Chaudhari2 From his home Hiran took an autorickshaw and reached the destination where Mane was waiting for him in white Volkswagen Polo Mane drove the car towards Fountain Hotel on Ghodbunder Road At 915 pm both reached Surekha Hotel on Ghodbunder Road and Mane parked the car by the side of the road3 At 922 pm a red Tavera MH 14DN 2190 approached them Mane directed Hiran to hand over his mobile phone and go to the Tavera telling him that the vehicle would take him to a safer placeSantosh Atmaram Shelar Anand Pandurang Jadhav Satish Tirupati Mothkari and Manish Vashantbhai Soni4 Following his instructions Hiran got down from Manersquos car and went to the Tavera He was made to sit in the middle row between the accused Santosh Shelar and Anand Jadhav on the pretext of safe transportation Another accused Mansukh Soni was in the driverrsquos seat and Satish Mothkari was in the rear seat behind Hiran5 As soon as Hiran sat down in the Tavera Jadhav and Mothkari grabbed his head from behind covered his mouth and nose with handkerchiefs Shelar and Jadhav held both his hands tightly when Hiran resisted and struggled6 Meanwhile Mane had left towards Vasai after handing over Hiran to the killers He switched on Hiranrsquos mobile phone at two locations to mislead the investigationPicRajesh Gupta7 After Hiran was smothered Soni drove the car towards Kasheli Bridge in Thane around 947 pm He stopped the vehicle in the middle of the bridge on ThaneBhiwandi road on the instructions of Shelar Later Shelar Jadhav and Mothkari got off the vehicle and threw Hiranrsquos body into the creek8 Hiranrsquos body was discovered the next day ie March 5 2021 at Reti Bunder in Mumbra located at least 1 km from the Kasheli Bridge