Ambani bomb scare case: Waze workforce took CCTV feed from his housing society

ON FEBRUARY 27, a day after Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Waze was named Investigating Officer within the Antilia bomb scare case, his workforce on the Mumbai Police’s Criminal Intelligence Unit (CIU) visited the housing society the place he stays and allegedly took possession of all CCTV footage, The Indian Express has learnt.
In a separate transfer, Waze and his workforce took CCTV footage and a register from a store in Thane the place pretend quantity plates discovered on two automobiles concerned within the incident had been allegedly made. None of those “seizures” was recorded by the CIU in case papers as a part of proof, a senior police officer informed The Indian Express.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which took over the bomb scare case and arrested Waze on Saturday night time, suspects that the CIU workforce allegedly wished to destroy proof.
In this regard, sources mentioned, the NIA has questioned 5 CIU policemen, together with two APIs aside from Waze. It is recording the statements of CIU officers, together with Waze and API Riyazuddin Kazi, to search out the “seized evidence”.
Two days after the scare exterior Mukesh Ambani’s residence on February 25, the CIU workforce visited Saket Cooperative Housing Society in Thane West close to the Mumbai-Agra freeway, the place Waze stays, and requested the office-bearers at hand over the Digital Video Recorder (DVR) containing all CCTV footage.
The automobile exterior the Ambanis’ residence. (Express Photo)
Two DVRs had been handed over the identical day, mentioned an office-bearer, talking on situation of anonymity.
On Monday, The Indian Express reported the discovering of the NIA probe workforce that the CIU was utilizing a white Innova that had been noticed trailing the Scorpio SUV discovered exterior Ambani’s home with gelatin sticks and a risk notice.
Officers from Mumbai Police and Maharashtra’s Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS), who had been investigating the case earlier than it was taken over by NIA, had pinned the final location of the Innova to Majiwadi junction in Thane, about 3 km from the housing society the place Waze stays.
The ATS can also be investigating the theft of the Scorpio, per week earlier than it was discovered parked exterior the Ambani residence. A Mumbai police supply mentioned CCTV footage from Waze’s society was necessary for this case, too. “The Scorpio was stolen on February 17, and the ATS was investigating a lead that the vehicle was parked in the housing society for days after that,” mentioned an ATS officer, on situation of anonymity.
Last week, the spouse of an auto interiors vendor who was utilizing the SUV had claimed that the Scorpio was in Waze’s possession from November final 12 months until February 5. The vendor, Mansukh Hiran, was discovered useless on March 5.
The CIU workforce that visited the housing society included API Kazi, who has since been questioned by the NIA within the bomb scare case.
When contacted in regards to the seized CCTV footage, Mumbai Police spokesperson Chaitanya S mentioned: “I have no knowledge regarding this.” However, The Indian Express reviewed the contents of a letter signed by API Kazi and handed over to the housing society on February 27.
“Whereas for the purpose of investigation this office needs to check the CCTV installed in premises of your society and the adjoining area. Whereas CCTV footage of your premises of your society and the adjoining roads and areas are stored in the DVR. Whereas these DVR are needed to be taken in charge for the thorough investigation,” it states.
An office-bearer of the society mentioned the four-member police workforce “initially made an oral request and were reluctant to put in a formal written request”. “It was only after the society said that it would not hand over the footage without a written demand did they write a letter,” mentioned the office-bearer, who didn’t want to be named.

Five days later, on March 4, the society’s secretary Shashi Nayar wrote a letter to the Senior Police Inspector of the Rabodi Police Station informing him that they’d handed over the DVRs to a API-rank officer from the CIU. Nayar couldn’t be reached for remark.
Earlier, on February 25 and 26, a CIU workforce had visited the store in Thane the place the quantity plates had been made. They seized the DVR and register from the store after saying that it was a part of the investigation, the proprietor mentioned.
Speaking to The Indian Express, shop-owner Navin Talreja mentioned, “On February 25, Sachin Waze and four other policemen came to my shop and told me that they were investigating the Ambani case and that the car registration number may have been made at my shop. The next day, four of the officers came and took the DVR of the CCTV footage and the register where I had maintained records.”

An NIA officer mentioned the DVR and register was “vital” as they may reveal the identification of these for whom the quantity plates had been made.
On Sunday, the ATS, which is probing Hiran’s loss of life too, wrote a letter to the Thane housing society secretary looking for CCTV footage. But the society’s office-bearers confirmed that they’d handed over the DVRs to the CIU.