Mumbai, March 14 Mumbai Police's Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Vaze nabbed by the National Investigation Agency minutes before midnight on Saturday was produced before a Special NIA Court on Sunday afternoon in connection with the case involving an abandoned SUV found near the home of industrialist Mukesh Ambani.
Vaze was arrested after nearly 12 hours of grilling by the NIA team and this morning underwent the mandatory medical checkup before he was taken to the court in tight security.
Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said that the action in the case involving the planting of a SUV Scorpio with gelatin sticks and the subsequent death of businessman Mansukh Hiren "would be based on truth".
"The matter of the gelatin sticks found in a Scorpio vehicle near Ambani's residence and the Hiren murder cases are being investigated by NIA and ATS. Action will be taken based on the truth that comes out of it," he said in his brief comments this morning.
While the ruling Shiv Sena slammed the Centre's moves to unilaterally take-over important cases which were demoralising the Mumbai Police, the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party launched a fresh attack on the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis said this (Vaze's arrest) is merely the beginning and it is necessary to probe who are the people behind him, supporting him in the government, since the involvement of police officials in crimes will shake the people's faith in the police.
Suspecting that it is not a small matter, but "a larger plot" in which the truth must come out, Fadnavis termed it as "a serious matter that the person who was the investigating officer has been arrested".
Leader of Opposition (Council) Pravin Darekar demanded answers from Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray since he was seen defending Vaze last week.
Demanding a narco-test on Vaze to unravel the names of the 'master-conspirators', BJP city spokesperson Ram Kadam asked whether the MVA government was worried that the policeman's revelations could create problems for the ruling dispensation.
BJP leader and former MP Kirit Somaiya demanded the sacking of state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh and Mumbai Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh in the wake of Vaze's arrest.
"The Thackeray-government is protecting Vaze. I expected arrest of more members of the Vaze 'gang' What discussions did the CP (Singh) hold with Vaze for 3 days," Somaiya sought to know.
( With inputs from IANS )
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