The Bombay High Court on Thursday questioned how Sachin Waze, a former assistant police inspector accused in the 2021 Antilia bomb scare and Mansukh Hiran murder case, was able to use high-end cars and stay at Mumbai’s Oberoi hotel for more than three months.
The court also raised questions about Waze’s reported stay at the Oberoi hotel for more than three months. The court asked what prejudice would be caused if Waze was released on bail with stringent conditions, considering that he had been in custody for more than five years. “This person, being the rank of an API, drove in a Mercedes to his office which was in the same building as the Commissioner of Police.
In fact, he (Waze) even went to Varsha bungalow (Chief Minister’s residence) in the Mercedes,” the bench remarked, according to a report by news agency PTI .
The court questioned how an officer of Waze’s rank could afford such vehicles and noted that he had driven a Mercedes to his office and to Varsha bungalow, the chief minister’s residence.
The sessions court, while granting bail to Waze, had said the NIA failed to establish a prima facie case of terrorism under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). It also said there was no evidence on record to establish that Ambani’s family was terrorised by Waze’s alleged act.
The court had last week stayed the bail order, and Waze remains lodged at Thane Central Jail, news agency PTI reported. A bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Neela Gokhale was hearing the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) challenge to a September 29 order granting bail to Waze.
During Thursday’s hearing, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, appearing for the NIA, referred to witness statements which said Waze drove high-end cars, including Mercedes and BMW.
