Mumbai: NIA searches Sachin Waze's office, seizes high-end car used by him

The NIA has seized a Mercedes car that was used by arrested police officer Sachin Waze and recovered Rs 5 lakh from the vehicle after searching his office from where incriminating documents were recovered an official has saidWaze is at the focus of a probe by the National Investigating Agency NIA into a case related to the recovery of an SUV with explosives near industrialist Mukesh Ambanis house in south Mumbai on February 25 His plea contending that the manner of his arrest by the agency was illegal was also rejected by a court here on TuesdayWaze arrested for his alleged role in the case on March 13 was attached to the Crime Intelligence Unit CIU of Mumbai polices crime branch till recently The office is located in the police commissioners office compound in south Mumbai The NIA team recovered some incriminating documents and electronic evidence such as laptop iPad and mobile phones from Wazes office there an official of the probe agency said on TuesdayA black Mercedes car which was being used by Waze was also seized from a parking lot near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus CSMT and Rs 5 lakh in cash a notecounting machine two number plates and some clothes were recovered from it NIAs Inspector General Anil Shukla said The searches started around 8 pm on Monday and continued on Tuesday he said The NIA has so far recorded the statements of seven officials of the crime branch including an assistant commissioner of policeThe agency also questioned the CIUs Assistant Police Inspector API Riyazuddin Kazi for the third consecutive day Shukla said Kazi had on February 27 collected the Digital Video Record DVR of CCTVs from the housing society in Thanes Saket area where Waze lived two days after the explosives laden Mahindra Scorpio car was found on Carmichael Road near Ambanis houseThe probe agency suspects that it was collected to destroy evidence which could implicate Waze himself the official said During the search the DVR was seized The wife of businessman Mansukh Hiran who had claimed that the Scorpio was stolen from his possession and who died mysteriously has alleged that the SUV was being used by Waze for some time Kazi had also allegedly procured the fake number plates found in the SUV the police official claimed The SUV case was taken over by the NIA following Hirans deathA special court on Sunday remanded Waze in the custody of the central agency till March 25 On Tuesday the court rejected Wazes plea claiming that his arrest was illegal His lawyers Sajal Yadav and Sunny Punamiya argued that Waze was not produced before the court within 24 hours of his arrest as is required No sanction was taken from the state government under section 451 of the Code of Criminal Procedure the lawyers contended Under section 451 the sanction from the government is necessary if an official is to be arrested for anything done in his or her official capacity Special Public Prosecutor Sunil Gonsalves denied the allegationsWaze was arrested at 1150 pm on Saturday and produced before the court at about 245 pm the next day he said Waze was called in the morning for some clarification about the probe but he arrived late at night the prosecutor claimed Wazes lawyers had alleged that he was detained since 11 am on Saturday Sanction was not needed as Waze had not acted in discharge of his official duty the NIAs lawyer said Judge P R Sitre while rejecting Wazes plea observed that he was a policeman and knew his rightsThe entry in the station diary clearly reflects that intimation was provided to the accused and the police station concerned and also information about his arrest which means grounds of arrest were provided the judge said Whether he had acted in the course of performance of duty can be examined during the trial the court held It allowed Wazes lawyer to watch his interrogation from behind a glass partition but not within the hearing distanceEarlier speaking to reporters here on Tuesday BJP leader Pravin Darekar said the more the ruling Shiv Sena in Maharashtra defended Waze the more suspicion there will be about the state governments intentions The Sena had on Monday said the takeover of the case by the NIA was an insult to the Maharashtra policeThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever