NIA court rejects bail plea of Sachin Waze in Anitilia bomb scare case

Mumbai: A special NIA Court rejected the bail application of dismissed Mumbai policeman Sachin Waze who is the prime accused in the Antilia bomb scare case and the murder of businessman Mansukh Hiren on Thursday.

The court also granted an additional 30-day extension to NIA to file a charge sheet against Waze and four others.

Waze had sought default bail claiming that since the charge sheet was not filed against him within 90 days of his arrest, he was entitled to be released.

Special Judge Dinesh E Kothalikar said that the application was "meritless" and had "wasted the precious time of the court."

On Thursday, the judge also said that he had refrained from imposing costs on Waze as he was in custody but said that the order would give a message to others who make "such meritless applications in future with a view to waste the court's time". The court also rejected the default bail plea of co-accused in the case, dismissed assistant inspector Riyazuddin Kazi.

On June 9, the court had granted an extension of two months to the National Investigation Agency to submit its charge sheet.

The central agency later sought another extension, saying the investigation was still underway.

He was arrested in the case on March 13, 2021, following the death of Thane businessman Mansukh Hiran who had claimed that the SUV was found near Mukesh Ambani's south Mumbai residence on February 25 had been stolen from his possession.

But the special NIA court rejected Sachin Waze's plea saying it had no merit. The court had rejected his similar default bail application in June too.

Besides Sachin Waze, former encounter specialist police officer Pradeep Sharma and a few other former policemen are accused in the case.