The case of dirty Mumbai Police cop Sachin Vaze keeps unravelling new facets of the extortion racket run under the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra – whose mastermind was former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh of the NCP. Sachin Vaze has been arrested by the NIA for his involvement in the parking of an explosives-laden SUV outside industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence and the murder of Mansukh Hiren. He was allegedly acting at the behest of political forces, and central investigative agencies are thoroughly investigating all aspects related to the case.
In an explosive revelation, the Enforcement Directorate has now been told by Sachin Vaze himself that he “collected” Rs 4.70 crore in cash from Mumbai’s bar owners and “handed it over” to the personal assistant (PA) of former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh. The ED said that Vaze, the former head of the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) of Mumbai Police, informed the bar owners and managers that this money “will go to No. 1 and crime branch and social service branch of Mumbai Police”.
In its remand application field before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai, the Enforcement Directorate stated that Sachin Vaze “was getting direct instructions from Anil Deshmukh, the then home minister in a number of police investigations.” The centrality of Anil Deshmukh – who was forced to resign as Home Minister from the Shiv Sena-led MVA government after the allegations against him surfaced – cannot be stressed enough.
Sachin Vaze said that in a meeting at Anil Deshmukh’s official residence, he was given a list of bar and restaurant owners. In the meeting, Vaze said, he was asked “to collect Rs 3 lakh per month from each bar and restaurant.” The vasooli extorted by Sachin Vaze between December 2020 and February 2021 was to the tune of Rs 4.7 crores and was personally handed by him to Kundan Sambhaji Shinde, the PA of Anil Deshmukh in two instalments in the months of January and February this year.
The agency said it questioned and recorded the statement of Vaze twice at the Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai. The ED said that Vaze’s statement was “further confirmed” by two police officers who were also questioned by it. The ED has also been able to track down the money trail of the extorted money. The said money was sent through hawala to four “paper” or shell companies located in Delhi that later “diverted” about Rs 4.18 crore funds “in garb of donations” to a Nagpur based charitable trust whose chairman is Anil Deshmukh himself.
Why was Sachin Vaze tasked with extorting money from bars and nightclubs, however? According to the ED, Rs 4.70 crore was collected from various orchestra bar owners and managers for “smooth functioning of their bars after restricted hours without the restrictions of performance artist” and interference by the police. Essentially – the bar owners were paying the protection money. Protection from who, you may ask? Well, from the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s police force.
As reported by TFI, the NIA recently arrested former encounter specialist police officer and Shiv Sena leader Pradeep Sharma in connection with its probe into the Antilia bomb scare case and Mansukh Hiren’s murder.NIA has named Pradeep Sharma as the ultimate mastermind behind the Antilia bomb scare case and the murder of Mansukh Hiren, while it seems individuals like Sachin Vaze were operating under his directions. Much like Sachin Vaze, Sharma too has close connections with the ruling Shiv Sena in Maharashtra.
Since Sachin Vaze was operating at the behest of both NCP and Shiv Sena leaders, it would be safe to assume that the Maha Vikas Aghadi government would have been aware of the dirty cop’s actions. The central agencies must investigate the culpability of the MVA government and make all details public as soon as possible.
