MUMBAI: The National Investigating Agency on Sunday took arrested assistant police inspector Sachin Waze to the Mithi river in Mumbai, from where divers fished out a laptop and a cellphone belonging to him along with three hard disks, two car number plates and as many DVRs. The recorders are believed to contain footage from CCTV cameras at the Mumbai Police headquarters and the Thane housing society where Waze resides.
The NIA is looking for the evidence on the basis of a statement by Riyazuddin Kazi, a cop who reported to Waze.
The items added to the body of evidence gathered by the NIA so far as part of its probe into how an explosives-laden Scorpio was planted near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s bungalow and the subsequent murder of car owner Mansukh Hiran.
One of the recovered DVRs contained footage of vehicle movement at the city police headquarters while the second one reportedly has video evidence of one of the two vehicles involved in the crime being parked in Waze’s housing society.
Sources said Riyazuddin Kazi’s statement was recorded before a magistrate under Section 164 of CrPC, which enables the items recovered thereafter to be treated as evidence. “Kazi will be a witness in the case. We need to gather more information from him,” a source said.
The Scorpio containing gelatine was found outside Ambani’s residence on February 25. Hiran’s body was found in the Mumbra creek on the morning of March 5. Another vehicle, an Innova, had tailed the Scorpio that had been parked in Waze’s society before it was found near Ambani’s bungalow.
The recovery of the number plates is also significant given the fact that the Scorpio and Innova bore fake number plates. The police had questioned owners of two shops who allegedly made the number plates at Waze’s behest.
The suspects in the case had used several mobile phones without security features that had been procured from the grey market. These phones were later destroyed, the NIA has found out. Waze’s phone had been missing too.
The NIA on Sunday seized the Innova lying with the motor transport department of the city police.
Officials said five to six professional divers were engaged by the agency for the recovery of evidence from the Mithi river.