Mumbai: Claiming that he has been made a 'scapegoat' by certain 'political powers', Sachin Vaze's brother has moved the Bombay High Court challenging his arrest in the Antilia bomb scare case. His brother has further stated that the National Investigations Agency (NIA) that 'suddenly' registered an FIR in the present case, which was initially being probed by the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS), has not followed the due procedure of law while arresting Vaze.
Vaze's brother Sudharm has filed a writ of habeas corpus through his counsel Sunny Punamiya seeking directions to the NIA to immediately release Vaze.
In his plea, Sudharm has claimed that his brother Sachin Vaze has been wrongfully arrested by the NIA "without providing the copy of the FIR, without explaining the reasons of arrest, without informing his family about the arrest."
Sudharm has also alleged several lapses on part of the NIA in arresting Sachin Vaze in contravention to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 and innumerable judgments passed by the Supreme Court.
The plea describes Sacin Vaze as "a well established, pristine and decorated police officer of the Mumbai Police since the last 17 years and a respectable and law-abiding citizen. It also highlights the fact that Vaze has been at the helm of multiple high profile police investigations."
Terming the contentions of Vimla Hiren, the wife of the SUV car owner Mansukh Hiren, as "false, frivolous and concocted" Sudharm has claimed that his brother was directly targeted by the media and the society at large only on her allegations. He claimed that his brother is being framed by some political parties "as they wanted a scapegoat to pin this entire conspiracy on. My brother was made that scapegoat by certain political powers by using Vimla Hiren's allegations," the plea states.
"The haste in which my brother was arrested clearly shows some ulterior motives and huge political influence and interference with the sole intent to use him as a scapegoat to further certain political agendas of some big interested parties," the plea reads further.
Citing the WhatsApp status of Vaze prior to his arrest, his brother Sudharm has even expressed his fear for his brother's life and limb and that "the NIA can go to any extent to extract an illegal and false confession from him."
