The death of Mansukh Hiren and arrest of Sachin Vaze ring the death knells for Uddhav government

In an unpredictable twist, the NIA has taken the ill-famed cop Sachin Vaze into custody for his involvement in the Antilia SUV case, wherein a Scorpio filled with gelatin rods was recovered near the home of Mukesh Ambani. Following the mysterious death of Mansukh Hiren, the owner of the SUV, Sachin had applied for anticipatory bail, though in vain.

Senior Inspector Sachin Vaze has now been arrested by the NIA. To quote an excerpt from news portal ANI’s observation over the same on Twitter, “Mumbai police officer Sachin Waze has been arrested under Sections 286, 465, 473, 506 [2] and 120 B of Indian Penal Code, apart from being accused under Section 4 [a][b][l] Explosive Substances Act 1908 for his role and involvement in placing explosives-laden vehicle near Mukesh Ambani’s house in Mumbai on February 25.”

With the arrest of Sachin Vaze, the ruling coalition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of Maharashtra, lead by Uddhav Thackeray, has gone livid. They have tried to make the central government the scapegoat, which was quite visible from the vitriol they spread through their editorial in the party mouthpiece ‘Saamna’. To quote an excerpt from the same, “Arnab Goswami duped everybody in the TRP scam, which was being investigated by Vaze. Did the opposition create hue and cry because Arnab will have to answer questions related to the suicide and TRP scam? It is wrong to create ruckus on Mansukh Hiran case because Vaze shut BJP’s beloved Arnab’s mouth.”

But why is the Shiv Sena so concerned about the arrest of a police officer? And, what is so important about Mansukh Hiren’s death that makes Shiv Sena go jittery at the very thought of Sachin Vaze’s arrest? For the uninitiated, it was earlier found out that Mansukh Hiren was the owner of the SUV parked in front of Mukesh Ambani’s home. He was found dead in mysterious circumstances only a couple of days later. Moreover, Mansukh’s family members had accused Sachin of being complicit in his mysterious death.

Interestingly, this is the same Sachin Vaze, who not only arrested Arnab Goswami but also dragged him by his collar to the police van which leads to Alibaug Police Station. Apart from that, Sachin is also a Shiv Sena member, having joined the party in 2008, and as such, he is considered to be the favourite of Uddhav Thackeray. As such, his arrest will set the skeletons from the cupboard of the Uddhav government tumbling out, which is certainly the last thing Shiv Sena wants right now.

Interestingly, the car in which the explosives were filled is allegedly the same one, in which Sachin Vaze had come to arrest Arnab. As such, when NIA sets out to interrogate Sachin, even one statement from his mouth is all set to mark the death knell of the Uddhav Thackeray government currently ruling the state of Maharashtra.