Sharma had claimed in his plea that he was in no way connected to the offence registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act
Pradeep Sharma. File Pic
A special court in Mumbai on Saturday refused to discharge former 'encounter specialist' police officer Pradeep Sharma from the cases related to the 2021 Antilia bomb scare incident and subsequent murder of businessman Mansukh Hiran, reported the PTI.
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A M Patil, special judge for National Investigation Agency (NIA) cases, said that the court cannot, at this stage, accept Pradeep Sharma's contention that he was falsely implicated, according to the PTI.
Prima facie the case pertains to a larger conspiracy allegedly hatched by the accused persons, and it can not be concluded at this stage that the evidence of the witnesses and documentary evidence were fabricated, the judge said, as per the PTI.
The court will pass a detailed order later.
Pradeep Sharma had claimed in his plea that he was in no way connected to the offence registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the news agency reported on Saturday.
There was no case made out to even frame charges against him and mere suspicion was not enough, he said.
Pradeep Sharma was arrested in the case in June 2021. The Supreme Court had granted him bail in August 2023.
On February 25, 2021, an SUV with explosives inside was found parked near industrialist Mukesh Ambani's multi-storey residence 'Antilia' in south Mumbai.
Businessman Hiran, who was in possession of the SUV, was found dead in a creek in neighbouring Thane district of Maharashtra on March 5, 2021.
Initially, Mumbai Police had launched a probe into the matter which was later investigated by the NIA.
Dismissed Mumbai Police officer Sachin Waze is the main accused in the Antilia bomb scare case and the killing of Hiran. He is currently in judicial custody.
While the probe was on, businessman Mansukh Hiran, who claimed that the SUV was last in his possession before it was stolen, was found dead under mysterious circumstance in a creek in neighbouring Thane on March 5, 2021.
Investigating agencies alleged that Pradeep Sharma, along with dismissed police officer Sachin Waze and some others, had allegedly hatched the entire conspiracy in the matter, a claim Sharma has denied.
(with PTI inputs)
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