MUMBAI: More than five years after an explosives-laden Scorpio was found parked outside industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence, the trial in the 2021 Antilia bomb scare case entered the evidence stage on Wednesday, with the special NIA court recording the deposition of its first prosecution witness, police officer Asif Sande.
His cross-examination by advocate RB Mokashi, representing dismissed police officer Sachin Waze, brought out gaps in the first investigating officer’s recollection of how the FIR was registered, the source of the initial information and the documentation of crucial forensic evidence. Attached to the Gamdevi police station, which initially investigated the case, Sande was questioned about the circumstances under which the complaint was received and registered. He initially agreed with the defence that police sub-inspector Amit Kadam had orally conveyed the contents of the complaint to him. Sande also could not recall whether the written complaint bore the signature of senior police inspector Rampiyare Rajbhar or whether it had been marked to him. Sande acknowledged that he was not the officer in charge of the Gamdevi police station when the FIR was registered, although his signature appeared on it in that capacity. The agency alleged a larger conspiracy linking the placement of the explosives-laden vehicle to Hiran’s murder. The allegations are yet to be established at trial.
The National Investigating Agency (NIA) took over the investigation on March 8, 2021, and subsequently filed a charge-sheet against ten accused, including Waze and former assistant commissioner of police Pradeep Sharma.
However, when shown the FIR, which described the mode of receipt of information as “written”, Sande said he could not remember whether he had received the complaint orally or in writing.
He could not recall whether it had come to his knowledge that three fingerprints had been found on the SUV.
He also said he did not remember whether he had come across the fingerprint panchnama report during his investigation.
