A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court has refused a plea to defreeze an account of M/s. Mayank Automation, a company the NIA claims is linked with the main accused Sachin Vaze and had received a huge amount two days after the murder of auto parts dealer Mansukh Hiran.
The plea was not made by the company’s proprietor, but by two women who claimed the firm owed them around Rs. 1.5 crores. The pleas were made by one Abhishek Nathani’s wife and mother who claimed that they had made a payment of that amount to the company for delivering electric scooters, which were never delivered.
The NIA had opposed the pleas and said that the firm had got a deposit of Rs. 1.5 crores two days after auto parts dealer Mansukh Hiran’s murder. It also claimed that the applicants are close friends and business partners of Sachin Vaze and he was trying to divert the funds seized by it by approaching the court through them. It further submitted that Vaze had used various vehicles of Abhishek Nathani prior to the incident of Feb 25 last year when an explosive-laden car was found outside the industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence.
The court rejected the plea as devoid of merits and vague and stated that they could have made the proprietor of the company a party to the plea, which they did not. It also mentioned that as per the statement to the NIA, the proprietor Meena Vappaldas has said she does not know the applicants or about the details of the money lying in the firm’s account.
In a separate order, it permitted Abhishek Nathani to take custody of two Volvo cars allegedly used in the crime. The car had been seized by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) last year. Nathani had stated that the car was in the name of Paradise Superstructure but was in possession for two years before being seized with the consent of its owner. The court said the prosecution has not stated any material ground to keep the vehicle at the police station for investigation. It directed Nathani to execute a bond of Rs. 30 lakhs and sureties to take its custody.
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