Mumbai: Court rejects dismissed cop’s discharge plea in Antilia case

Mumbai: A special court under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act has denied discharge from certain charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) against dismissed Police Inspector Sunil Mane, in custody in the Antilia bomb scare-Mansukh Hiren murder case.

Mr Mane had told the court through his advocate that he was not part of the act of planting explosives in the SUV outside industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence in Feb last year and hence terror charges under the stringent law were not applicable to him. A detailed order is yet to be made available.

Sunil Mane had made a phone call to Hiren as "Tawde"

The SUV was traced to auto-parts dealer Mansukh Hiren. Shortly, the businessman’s body was found in a creek in Mumbra. The NIA has alleged that Mr Mane had made a phone call to Hiren as one “Tawde” and called him to Ghorbunder Road before he went missing and was later found dead. Mr Mane was also allegedly present in a meeting the main accused Sachin Vaze held with Hiren to persuade him to take the blame for the bomb scare after the vehicle was traced to him. He is also alleged to be present during the murder of Hiren.

Mane sought bail as the chargesheet not being filed within time

Earlier, Mane had sought bail on the grounds of the chargesheet not being filed within the stipulated time. The court had rejected this plea.

The NIA had filed a chargesheet against dismissed policeman Mr Vaze who was heading the Criminal Intelligence Unit (CIU) at the time of the incidents along with nine others. Only one accused, Naresh Gor, on whom the NIA had made allegations of having provided SIM cards that were used in the crime, has secured bail. All others, including encounter specialist and former cop Pradeep Sharma, who is also an accused in the case, remain in judicial custody.

Published on: Thursday, November 10, 2022, 07:50 PM IST