Ambani security scare: Sachin Waze asked Vikhroli cops to stop probe into Hiran car theft, investigation finds

NIA on Monday went to a five-star hotel in South Mumbai where Waze had stayed in February.

National Investigation Agency and Mumbai Police officials who have been scrutinising suspended assistant police inspector Sachin Waze’s conduct over the past month have found that he had asked the Vikhroli Police to stop its investigation in the car theft case lodged by Mansukh Hiran.

Vaze had also been using fake identity documents, with which he booked rooms for himself in upmarket hotels in the city, it was found.

On February 25, a gelatin-laden Scorpio was found 500 metres from Antilia, the residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani. On February 27, Waze contacted the senior police inspector of Vikhroli police station and instructed him to stop their investigation in the theft case of the Scorpio vehicle lodged by Hiran on February 18.

“Waze had made a phone call to the Vikhroli police instructing them to stop their investigation, I believe this was done to ensure that his involvement does not come out in the probe,” said a senior IPS officer. “It looks like soon after the investigation of the case got transferred to CIU, he had started destroying all the evidence and was bent on stopping other policemen from conducting their investigation.”

After Waze’s call, the police station had stopped pursuing the case as it had been handed over to the CIU.

Meanwhile, the NIA on Monday went to a five-star hotel in South Mumbai where Waze had stayed in February. The investigators took the digital video recorder (DVR) of the hotel. CCTV footage, officials said, shows Waze walking with two bags.

The NIA wants to probe who all met Waze during his hotel stay and the mode of payment for the stay. NIA officials have learnt that Waze had used a fake Aadhaar card, which carried a fictitious name but had his own photograph. Sources revealed that NIA has seized the photocopy of the Aadhaar card that Waze had submitted at the hotel.

Meanwhile, the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which arrested two persons — former constable Vinayak Shinde (51) and cricket bookie Naresh Gaur (31) in the murder case of Hiran — carried out searches at different locations, including an automobile company’s godown and office in Thane and Bhiwandi.

A source from ATS revealed that Waze was director of that automobile private limited company, but had resigned a few months ago.

Searches were carried out at the automobile company’s office in Thane and their godown in Bhiwandi. The ATS also conducted a search operation at a shop attached with the company.

ATS officials suspect that Hiran may have been killed at one of these locations.

The ATS has also detained a person from Gujarat in the Hiran murder case as Gaur, the cricket bookie, had procured 14 SIM cards from the detainee. An officer said, “We are trying to ascertain to whom Gaur supplied these illegally procured SIM cards.”

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