Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday expressed surprise over the lifestyle, including the use of high-end cars, of former Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Vaze, who is currently in judicial custody in the 2021 Antilia bomb-scare case and Mansukh Hiran murder case, a lawyer said.
A bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Neela Gokhale also flagged Vaze’s extended stay of about 100 days in a room booked at the Oberoi hotel, asking how an officer of the rank of Assistant Police Inspector could afford to drive high-end vehicles.
The High Court said that these aspects of Vaze’s financial situation, conduct, and professional record are relevant to assessing the charges against him.
The bench was hearing an appeal filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), challenging a September 29 order of a special court granting bail to Vaze.
The High Court last week granted interim stay on the bail order, resulting in Vaze remaining in judicial custody.
Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, representing the NIA, shared with the High Court witness statements that mentioned that Vaze used expensive and luxury vehicles while he was an Assistant Police Inspector.
During the hearing, Anil Singh read out a witness statement, which said that Vaze travelled in a black Mercedes and asked those accompanying him to turn off their mobile phones.
The court then asked whether the Mercedes belonged to Vaze and whether there was any evidence that the vehicle was registered in his name.
After the NIA responded in the affirmative, the court asked whether it was normal for an Assistant Police Inspector to own such an expensive car.
The court remarked, “Since we have not yet seen an Assistant Police Inspector driving a Mercedes…”
The court also sought information from the NIA regarding Vaze’s other vehicles and reviewed a list of five vehicles he used while serving as Assistant Police Inspector.
This list included a white BMW, a black Volvo, a white Mercedes, a white Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, and another black Mercedes.
Seeing the number of vehicles, the court said, “He (Sachin Vaze) owns five vehicles…”
The court noted that, according to statements submitted by the NIA, Vaze travelled in a high-end Mercedes to the Mumbai Police Commissioner’s office and the Maharashtra Chief Minister’s residence, ‘Varsha’.
NIA’s lawyer Anil Singh also told the court that Vaze had stayed at a seven-star hotel in South Mumbai for around 100 days.
The court asked how a police officer, earning a monthly salary of around Rs 90,000 at the time, could afford such an expensive lifestyle.
The NIA said that these vehicles owned and used by Vaze are being linked to alleged extortion in the case.
Vaze is an accused in the Antilia bomb scare case, where an SUV laden with explosives was recovered near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s Mumbai residence in February 2021.
The High Court asked the NIA the reasons for opposing Vaze’s bail that was granted with stringent conditions, partly due to the fact that he has been in custody for more than five years now.
The NIA lawyer said Vaze could tamper with witnesses and destroy evidence.
“He (Vaze) was earlier charged in a fake encounter case. He was a police officer who had the duty of protecting the public. But he himself indulged in criminal activities where he not just tried to instil fear and terror but he murdered a person,” Singh said.
(IANS)
