Ambani bomb threat case: Who is Sachin Vaze and why he is in news

The Mansukh Hiren death case has been all over the news in the past few days. Along with that, Mumbai Police’s top cop Sachin Vaze’s name also has repeatedly coming up in connection to Hiren's death.

Ambani bomb threat case: Who is Sachin Vaze and why he is in news
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The Mansukh Hiren death case has been all over the news in the past few days. Along with that, Mumbai Police’s top cop Sachin Vaze’s name also has repeatedly coming up in connection to Hiren's death.

The cop had allegedly reached the death scene even before the local cops raised suspicions over his involvement in the death case, claimed former CM Devendra Fadnavis.

Who is Sachin Vaze?

The 49-year-old policeman joined the Mumbai Police Service in 1990 as a sub-inspector. He is originally from Kolhapur. Vaze was first posted to the Naxalite-infested Gadchiroli district and then to Thane City Police.

Vaze, who was leading the investigating of Mansukh Hiren's death in the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU), was transferred to the Citizen Facilitation Centre at the Mumbai Police Headquarters.

Further, he was transferred to the CIU of the Mumbai Police Crime Branch. In the late 1990s, he was termed as an Encounter Specialist and became the face of the Mumbai Police Crime Branch.

How many encounters have been conducted by him? 

He has conducted 63 encounters under his name, including one of the dreaded gangster Munna Nepali and those belonging to Dawood and Chhota Rajan’s gangs.

Why was he suspended 16 years ago?

The encounter specialist first came under the scanner when he was suspended in March 2004 after allegations of custodial death of a 2002 Ghatkopar blast suspect Khwaja Yunus. Later, when his application for being reinstated was rejected, he resigned from the police force in November 2007 and joined Shiv Sena in 2008. Though he wasn’t very active in politics.

In June last year, he was reinstated in the Mumbai Police’s CIU.

Why is he called Vaze 'the writer' and techno-savy?

He is not only a leading Mumbai cop, but Vaze has also authored a book called ' Jinkun Harleli Ladhaai' based on the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. Vaze's colleagues call him "techno-savvy" as he is known to use the best of gadgets and gizmos to solve cases. He has solved several cybercrime cases, financial frauds and one international credit card fraud case.

What is Vaze’s role Ambani bomb threat case?

March 15: According to the latest update, Mumbai Police suspended Vaze.

March 14: The Innova car seen in the CCTV footage with the explosives was brought to NIA office. It belongs to Mumbai Police Crime Branch. Four members of the Crime Intelligence Unit (2 drivers and 2 officers) were also called by NIA. The officers were a part of the team that was being headed by arrested Mumbai Police officer Sachin Waze.

March 13: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested Vaze on late Saturday night after 12 hours of questioning. He was summoned to the NIA office on Saturday to record his statement.

March 12: Vaze applied for an anticipatory bail in Thane sessions court on Friday, which was rejected by the judge. The court set March 19 as the next date of hearing.

March 11: Delhi police recovers SIM card and cell phone used to threaten Ambani from Indian Mujahideen member Tehsin Akhtar’s barracks in Tihar jail. The SIM and cell phone were used to create the Jaish-ul-Hind Telegram account which claimed the responsibility for the explosive-laden SUV and demanded cryptocurrency.

March 5: Mansukh Hiren is found dead after being missing for five hours. The police said that it looked like he committed suicide by jumping into Kalwa creek. However, Hiren’s wife alleged that Sachin Vaze, a Mumbai crime branch officer, killed her husband.

March 4: Hiren gets a call from Tawde of Kandivli Crime Branch who asked him to meet at Ghodbunder Road in Thane.

March 2: Mansukh Hiren alleges harassment by the police in a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, Mumbai Police chief Param Bir Singh, Thane Police chief Vivek Phansalkar.

March 1: The SUV number helped trace to Mansukh Hiren, a Thane-based automobile spare parts businessman. In November 2020, Hiren had purportedly given the SUV to Sachin Vaze, an old client, who returned the car back on February 5, 2021, owing to a technical snag in the steering. On February 17, Hiren parked the car after the steering gets jammed at the Eastern Express Highway in Vikhroli. The next day, he finds it missing and lodges a complaint with Vikhroli police station in Mumbai.

February 26: A Telegram channel was created by “jaishulhind” [Jaish-ul-Hind] and a message claiming responsibility for parking the vehicle outside Antilia, where Ambani lives with his family, was posted from that channel.

February 25: A Scorpio containing 20 gelatin sticks along with a threatening letter near Ambani's house 'Antilia' in south Mumbai.

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