Mumbai: Sachin Waze's NIA custody extended till April 7

NIA officers seen taking suspended Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Waze to court on Saturday. Pic/Bipin Kokate

A Special NIA court extended the custody of suspended police officer Sachin Waze till April 7. Waze was arrested by the National Investigating Agency (NIA) in connection with the explosives-laden SUV found near industrialist Mukesh Ambani's house and the death of businessman Mansukh Hiran. He was arrested on March 13.

On Saturday afternoon, Waze was brought to the Special NIA court. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Anil Singh, representing NIA, said, "Based on a disclosure statement given by Waze under the Criminal Procedure Code, we have searched Mithi River and found several incriminating material. Waze had a joint account with another co-accused in a private bank's Versova branch, which had R26.5 lakh till March 1, 2021."

Singh also stated that Waze and the co-accused had a joint locker in the same branch. "After Waze's arrest, the locker was opened on March 18, and some articles were removed from there. We searched that locker on March 30, and found some documents. But, we think the locker had some more incriminating material."

Waze told the court that he suffers from a cardiac issue and had also suffered a stroke last Sunday and, hence, needs to get an angiography done. The special public prosecutor Sunil Gonzalves, also representing NIA, told the court that Waze had undergone blood tests, ECG and 2D Echo, while in custody, and all reports indicated that he was fit. "Waze had submitted medical papers from 2019, where doctor had suggested a bypass surgery, but he hadn't done anything about it until his arrest," Gonzalves said. After taking all the submissions into consideration, the court extended Waze's NIA custody till April 7.