Uddhav Thackeray, adopting the classic tactic of offering assistant police inspector (API) Sachin Vaze, who has now been suspended by the department, as a sacrificial lamb, not very long ago claimed that the man was no Osama Bin Laden. Why does Uddhav Thackeray, the chief minister of Maharashtra, have to appeal to people to not pronounce Vaze guilty unless he is proven so by investigators and the courts? For the simple reason that the besmirched cop had joined the Shiv Sena in 2008 and is said to be very close with Sena higher-ups since the 1990s.
However, Uddhav Thackeray too has been forced to distance himself from the tainted cop, as he first took to transferring him, and then having him suspended from the Mumbai Police. Make no mistake, nobody would have cared to bat an eye against the executive overreach currently being seen in the state of Maharashtra, had former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the BJP not taken it upon themselves to expose the tainted and corrupt cop, while also reminding the public about his connection to the current powers that be.
Devendra Fadnavis has been unrelenting in his attack against the Maha Vikas Aghadi for ‘shielding’ Sachin Vaze, who was recently arrested by the NIA for plating an explosives-laden vehicle near the residence of industry tycoon Mukesh Ambani. Fadnavis has also claimed that the bomb-scare case and investigations into Sachin Vaze’s criminalities will not be over until the killer of Mansukh Hiren – who reportedly owned the SUV in which the explosives were planted, is nabbed. Speaking to media persons, Fadnavis on Monday said, “Let me tell you that Sachin Waze’s case is not over yet. It won’t be until Mansukh Hiren’s killer is revealed.”
A day earlier, Fadnavis had said that reinstatement of suspended API Sachin Vaze into the police force last year at the behest of the Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government was a violation of a Bombay High Court order. Speaking to the media, Fadnavis said, “During my tenure as CM, the Shiv Sena, which was an alliance partner, tried to get him back in the police force. I referred the file to the then advocate general. The oral advice given to me was that any attempt to reinstate would amount to violation of High Court directives.”
As we said earlier, Fadnavis has launched an unprecedented offensive against the Maha Vikas Aghadi government for its ties with Sachin Vaze. So, only days ago, Fadnavis also said that Vaze did not require any advocates, since he was receiving such splendid help from the Maharashtra chief and home ministers. “Sachin Waze’s arrest raised questions on government. Maharashtra CM and Home Minister were protecting him as if they were his lawyers. I think only one angle has come out but Mansukh Hiren death case isn’t solved yet. Probe will reveal who was involved and what was the intention,” Fadnavis told reporters in Mumbai.
TFI had earlier reported how Sachin Vaze has become a liability for the Shiv Sena, as he starts singing like a canary before the NIA and revealing powerful names during his interrogation. In fact, Vaze stated that he was a very small part of the plan as he claimed that the Shiv Sena leaders named by him have played a major role in the case. “I am a piece of Iceberg in this case,” said Vaze.
The fear of Devendra Fadnavis has forced Uddhav Thackeray and the Maha Vikas Aghadi government to distance themselves from Sachin Vaze and merely spectate from the galleries as he starts exposing his political bosses before the NIA.