Sachin Vaze was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for his involvement in the Ambani bomb scare case, where there was an explosive-laden SUV parked near Mukesh Ambani’s ‘Antilia’. The former police officer was also arrested after the mysterious death of Mansukh Hiren, the original owner of the SUV. But there is only one question lingering in the minds of the people – Why? What was Vaze’s motivation behind the grand conspiracy?
However, as NIA’s crackdown on the case continues, new details have emerged. According to the NIA, Sachin Vaze concocted the entire plot in order to regain his ‘lost fame’ as a Mumbai top cop. Recently, a Mercedes Benz allegedly driven by Sachin was confiscated by NIA, in which the fake number plate of the Scorpio, a note counting machine and unaccounted cash worth Rs. 5 lakhs were recovered.
To quote Hindustan Times, “According to the NIA officers, Sachin Vaze was the brains behind the entire plan, who concocted this scheme in order to regain his lost reputation.”
For the uninitiated, a Scorpio filled with gelatin rods, often used as explosives was spotted near the mansion of Mukesh Ambani in South Mumbai on the night of 25 February. And new developments in the case – from Vaze’s arrest to him naming a few Shiv Sena leaders – have been emerging ever since.
According to NIA investigators, “We have confiscated a black Mercedes Benz. In this, we found the fake number plate of the Scorpio car, unaccounted cash worth more than 5 lakh rupees, a note counting machine and some clothes. We are finding out to whom these things actually belonged.”
Mumbai: National Investigation Agency is conducting search of the car allegedly used by Mansukh Hiren on 17th February.
Hiren, owner of vehicle that was found containing explosives outside house of Mukesh Ambani, was found dead in a creek on March 5 in Thane. pic.twitter.com/DT3tBB4bgP
— ANI (@ANI) March 16, 2021
Once a famed encounter specialist along with the likes of Daya Nayak, Pradeep Sharma, and others, the then Assistant Inspector Sachin Vaze was suspended from service in 2004 over the custodial death of a software engineer named Khwaja Yunus. However, he was surprisingly reinstated without a proper enquiry or procedure in 2020. He is the same Sachin Vaze who was instrumental in the arrest of Arnab Goswami over his alleged involvement in the Anvay Naik suicide case.
As revealed by the NIA, Sachin Vaze wanted to prove to Mumbai Police that he is still as much of a capable officer as he was in the yesteryears. Interestingly, he is also adept at solving bomb detection cases. Probably that is why he devised a scheme to plant explosives incognito, and then solve the case himself so that he could regain the limelight again. He certainly did not anticipate the takeover of the case by NIA for sure.
As such, it would not be wrong to say that if the accusations are cent per cent true. Sachin Vaze not only axed his own career with such a foolhardy step but also has put a huge question mark over the future of the wobbly Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition in Maharashtra.