The prime accused in the Mansukh Hiren death case – Sachin Vaze – has reportedly admitted to the NIA that he destroyed five mobile phones, including his official one after Mumbai Police recovered the dead body of Mumbai-based businessmen from Kalwa creek on March 5.
According to the reports, the NIA officials have taken the help of experts to retrieve Vaze’s mobile phone data, which would give them crucial digital evidence about his involvement in the Manuskh Hiren death case. The officials suspect that Vaze was using at least 13 mobile phones.
Reportedly, with the help of another accused Vinayaka Shinde, a constable in Mumbai Police’ Crime Branch, Sachin Vaze had come into contact with a person who runs a club in South Mumbai, which was frequented by gamblers and bookies. The probe has revealed that Vaze had asked the club owner and Shinde to arrange some SIM cards for him.
Later, Vaze came into contact with bookie Naresh Gor, who provided five SIM cards for Vaze. Vaze had also arranged to get four mobile phones through one of his acquaintances, said an unnamed official according to the Free Press Journal.
During the investigation earlier, the Maharashtra ATS officials had recovered three mobile phones. However, they could not recover the cellphone used by Vaze to call Mansukh Hiren, as it was destroyed by the suspect through an acquaintance. The police had recovered three SIM cards, while two others used in the crime were destroyed.
Police have identified the person who helped Vaze get the four mobile phones. The investigators have also now identified the person who damaged the phone after Hiren’s murder and has interrogated him in connection with the case as well.
Hiren was murdered in the car, says Maharashtra ATS
Earlier, in a sensational disclosure, Maharashtra ATS sources had revealed that Mansukh Hiren was administered chloroform and then thrown in the creek from where his body was recovered. The report also says that Hiren was murdered in the presence of Sachin Vaze.
Reports suggested that the technical mobile tower and IP evaluation suggested that Sachin Vaze was present in the vehicle when Mansukh Hiren was killed. A post mortem report had revealed that Mansukh Hiren had sustained bruises before he was killed.
A report by Times Now report had said that soon after the murder of Mansukh Hiren, Sachin Vaze raided a bar in Dongri to evade suspicion. The owner of the bar confirmed that Sachin Vaze raided the bar with the assistance of Dongri police.
Sachin Vaze – an accused in the Antilia bomb scare case
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested ‘encounter specialist’ Sachin Vaze for being a part of the group that planted the explosive-laden Scorpio on Carmichael Road (near Antilia) on February 25. The top cop was also investigated for his alleged role in the death of Mansukh Hiren, the owner of the Scorpio found near the Ambani residence.
Two cars – an Innova (white colour) and a Scorpio (green colour) were used to plant the bombs outside Mukesh Ambani’s residence in Mumbai on February 25. The police had traced the Scorpio to Mansukh Hiren, an auto part dealer in Thane. A few days later, his dead body was found in a creek. While initially it was claimed to be suicide, further investigation revealed that it is possibly a murder.
Later, it was found out that Mumbai top cop Sachin Vaze had used the same explosive-laden Scorpio found outside Reliance Group’s chief Mukesh Ambani’s residence Antilia to escort Alibagh Police in Arnab case.
