[Antilia case] Sachin Waze terrorised wealthy individuals, extorted money: NIA chargesheet

Dismissed Mumbai cop Sachin Waze and former encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma and eight other accused conspired to place the explosive laden SUV near the residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani and eliminate businessman Mansukh Hiren, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said in its primary chargesheet filed before a Mumbai court..The chargesheet running into 10,000 pages, arraigned 10 persons as accused and enlisted 303 witnesses and 20 other key witnesses in the explosives laden SUV case and the connected case of Mansukh Hiren’s death..According to the chargesheet, Waze had placed the explosive laden SUV outside Ambani's residence to stage a fake terror explosion in a bid to regain his lost glory as a cop and also extort money from wealthy industrialists by creating fear in them..According to NIA, Waze had parked the vehicle near Ambani’s residence and after he was designated as the Investigating Officer in the same case, he manipulated the investigation to cover up his conspiracy.The allegations against Waze were that he directed Hiren to lodge a complaint with respect to the “theft of his vehicle” when Waze had himself used the vehicle in the commission of the crime.NIA also accused Waze of dumping and destroying evidence by illegally taking away electronic records containing incriminating CCTV footage and documents pertaining to procurement of fake number plates used for commission of offence. He allegedly destroyed such evidence in the Mithi river in the presence of his associates..NIA contended that Waze tried to involve Hiren as a conspirator in the crime by giving him the responsibility to place the vehicle laden with explosives on the street outside Amabni's residence. However, when Hiren refused, Waze hatched the criminal conspiracy to kill Hiren with the help of Sharma and dismissed Police Inspector Sunil Mane, who is also claimed to one of the last persons to have seen Hiren before he was murdered by hired henchmen. .According to the chargesheet, Waze tried to create an alibi by intentionally remaining in his office premises and then conducting a midnight raid in a restaurant so that his location shows him performing duty far from the scene of the crime pertaining to execution of Hiren.The chargesheet also emphasized that "Waze tried to project the Hiren's murder as a case of suicide by circulating such news through his contacts in the field of journalism." .NIA stated that Waze collected huge amounts of money through extortion a part of which was used for commission of the crime. From the threat note found in the vehicle, it was evident that act of placing the vehicle was an "act of terror on the part of Waze". "The intent was clearly to terrorise wealthy and prosperous individuals and also to extort money by putting into fear of dire consequences," the chargesheet stated, adding that "Mansukh Hiran was a direct outcome of the said act of terror"..The threat note was allegedly posted on a Telegram mobile application group - Jaish Ul Hind, according to NIA. It seemed to be a deliberate attempt to add credibility to the act of terror.Besides the wordings in the threat note, 'agle baar connect hokar aayega' (next time it will come connected) clearly depicted Waze's intention for furtherance of the terrorist acts "to re-establish himself as a super cop by staging a fake encounter so as to regain his lost glory," NIA contended.The note, posting it on Telegram, and demanding ransom depicted Waze's motive for huge monetary gains from the entire conspiracy, NIA submitted.