India / 'Man in PPE' seen in CCTV footage in Antilia bomb scare case is Sachin Vaze: NIA

The NIA said that 'man in PPE' seen in the CCTV footage on the night the explosive-laden SUV was parked outside Antilia is suspended Mumbai Police officer Sachin Vaze, reported ANI. The NIA added Vaze covered his head with a "handkerchief" and was wearing "oversized kurta-pajama" and not PPE kit in an attempt to mask his body language and face.

Vikrant Shekhawat : Mar 17, 2021, 12:12 PM
Mumbai: Antilia Bomb Probe: Sachin Waze's staff has revealed that the man seen in the CCTV video wearing a PPE kit was allegedly Sachin Waze himself. Times Now has learnt that 'Waze destroyed the PPE kit'. The clothes that Waze wore inside the PPE have been found.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA)  was already probing if Waze was present at the spot near Antilia - where the SUV with explosives was abandoned - on the night of the incident. "NIA is probing if the man who is seen in a CCTV grab near Antilia, wearing a PPE on the night when Scorpio was parked, is Sachin Waze or not. NIA is checking his alibi, CCTV footage etc," NIA sources were quoted as saying by news agency ANI on Monday.

Earlier today, Waze was suspended from the service, a day after he was sent to custody till March 25. He is being probed by the NIA, as well as ATS in connection with the recovery of 20 gelatin sticks in an SUV parked outside the residence of Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani. 

The Opposition, led by former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has vehemently attacked the state government over the alleged connection between Waze and Mansukh Hiran, the owner of the SUV parked outside Antilia on February 25. Hiran was found dead in a Mumbai suburb. The ATS and NIA are probing the matter. 

According to sources, the NIA has already gathered incriminating evidence against Waze and has also collected CCTV footage from his residential complex to ascertain if the SUV was in his possession before being parked outside Antilia.