In a new twist in the Antilia Bomb scare case, a report published by TV 9 Marathi claimed that the CCTV footage of Sachin Vaze’s society had gone missing. According to the report, the officials of Mumbai Police had confiscated CCTV footage from Sachin Vaze’s society on March 2 itself, three days before Mansukh Hiren was found dead on the banks of a creek that flows towards Mumbra from Thane.
Sachin Vaze lives in the B-6 wing of the Saket Complex in Thane. A total of 51 CCTV cameras are installed in his society complex. As per the TV9 Marathi report, Mumbai Police officials had come down to the society on March 2 and took the CCTV footage of the camera feeds away with them.
The report further says ATS and NIA teams are now exploring ways to retrieve the lost CCTV footage from Vaze’s society. Significantly, several questions are being raised now after it was discovered that Mumbai Police officials had seized the CCTV footage from Vaze’s society.
‘Who sought the CCTV footage? Whether it was done at the behest of Sachin Vaze? Was it done with the explicit purpose of destroying the evidence?’ are some of the questions that have come to the fore in the wake of the missing CCTV footage.
Already the case has had myriad twists and turns so far, with the mystery surrounding the attack against Mukesh Ambani deepening day by day. Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis made a sensational disclosure on March 5 in Vidhan Sabha when he claimed that Assistant Police officer Sachin Vaze was in touch with Mansukh Hiren, the owner of the Scorpio car that was found laden with explosives outside the Ambani residence.
Fadnavis has alleged conspiracy behind the attack against Mukesh Ambani, alleging that it could not be a coincidence that the car was stolen from Thane, the route they followed was also from Thane and the IO investigating the case also lived in Thane.
NIA arrests Sachin Vaze in connection with Antilia bomb scare case
Shortly after Fadnavis’ revelation, Mansukh Hiren was found in a creek in Thane. Hiren’s wife has accused Vaze of murdering her husband. The case was transferred to the Anti-Terrorism Squad on March 6 and Vaze was removed from the Mumbai Police Crime Branch after his name surfaced in connection with the matter.
After the case was transferred to the ATS, the National Investigation Agency(NIA) was called in to handle the probe related to the recovery of explosives from a car parked near Mukesh Ambani’s residence in Mumbai. On Saturday night, Sachin Vaze was arrested by the NIA after hours-long interrogation in the Antilia bomb scare.
On Sunday, a white Innova car, that was tailing the explosive-laden Scorpio was found from the office of the Mumbai Police commissioner and was used by Vaze’s Crime Investigation Unit (CIU). In fact, some reports even suggest that the car was used by Vaze himself. Vaze has also reportedly named Shiv Sena leaders in the Antilia case.
NIA gains access to CCTV footage and fingerprints at Vaze’s CIU office
Recently, NIA said it has accessed the CCTV footage, fingerprints and other evidence against Sachin Vaze. As per a TV9 Marathi report, NIA has gained access to CCTV footage covering a 2 km radius of Sachin Vaze’s CIU office from 25th February to 5th March 2021.
As per NIA, the CCTV footage confirms that Sachin Vaze met Mansukh Hiren on 25th February, the same day, gelatin laden Scorpio was discovered at Mukesh Ambani’s residence. The report also suggests that the fingerprints found on the Scorpio match that of Sachin Vaze. On basis of the CCTV footage recovered, NIA is conducting an in-depth investigation to track his whereabouts, places he visited and the people he met on the dates mentioned above.
