Mumbai, Mar 15: Assistant police inspector Sachin Waze’s brother Sudharm Waze today filed a habeas corpus petition before Bombay high court, alleging that former’s arrest by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is illegal.
He alleged that super cop Waze was “made a scapegoat by certain political powers’’ by using Vimla Hiren, widow of Mansukh Hiren whose whose body was found is Kalwa creek days after his Scorpio was found parked suspiciously late night outside Mukesh Ambani’s residence last month.
Waze alleged that by the “illegal arrest’’ the agency intends to “target someone else.’’
His petition alleged that the acts of NIA “make it evident that they are acting with malafide intentions and ulterior motives only so as to tarnish the name, image and reputation of the Petitioner's brother for reasons best known to them.”
The NIA arrested Waze in connection with a “suspected offence’’ of a “suspicious four-wheeler parked at Carmichael Road, Mumbai opposite Shikhar Kunj building’’ from which “a threatening note and 20 sticks of gelatin were recovered.’’ The information, said the NIA, was received from a security officer of Antilla, the residence of Mukesh Ambani, about the suspiciously parked vehicle, a Mahindra Scorpio. It was later seized.
The habeas corpus (produce the body) is a plea to direct NIA to produce Waze before the HC and set him free.
The petition says that a FIR by Vimla Hiren, registered by the anti terrorism squad (ATS) Mumbai on March 7 against unknown persons made “false, frivolous and concocted allegations’’ against Sachin Waze, blaming him “baselessly’’ for Hiren’s death. It said, “surprisingly the very next day, on March 8, an FIR’’ was registered by the NIA, Mumbai against unknown persons.
The petition says after Hiren’s FIR the “entire media fraternity and society started targeting’’ Waze as “they wanted a scapegoat to pin this entire conspiracy on.’’
The NIA special public prosecutor Sunil Gonsalves had on Sunday sought Waze’s remand after citing three witness statements which were for the Judge’s eyes only.
Waze’s counsel Sudeep Pasbola had argued that the Remand application was bereft of any allegations against the arrested cop and neither was he named in the FIR.
On Monday, Waze’s advocate Sunny Punamiya in the petition before the HC said the points seeking to made are that Waze “has been wrongfully arrested without any 41(A) notice, without providing the copy of the FIR, without explaining the reasons of arrest, without informing the Petitioner and many other lapses which is an absolute violation of the provisions laid down in the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 and innumerable judgements passed by the Supreme Court.’’
“The haste in which the Petitioner's brother was arrested clearly shows some ulterior motives and huge political influence and interference with the sole intent to use the Petitioner's brother as a scapegoat to further certain political agendas of some big interested parties. The Petitioner's fundamental rights have been severely violated and the Petitioner fears for brothers’ life and limb as the Respondent officers can go to any extent to extract an illegal and false confession from the Petitioner's brother. The Petitioner's brother had even sent a whatsapp message to his near and dear ones right before his arrest that he may be trapped by his fellow officers and this time he may not survive this ordeal,’’ said the petition.
The petition said, his brother “is being subjected to wrongful and illegal detention and is being held in custody.’’ He questioned the NIA and alleged the agency was “willfully and intentionally disobeying the due process of law’’ and “acting arbitrarily’’ to “jeopardize the legitimate and legal rights of the Petitioner's brother without providing sufficient cause.”
It said Waze has no intention of absconding and had cooperated with the NIA who interrogated for 10 hours before his arrest.
Waze has been a police officer with Mumbai police for the last 17 years and is “a respectable and law abiding citizen of India and is wrongfully arrested by the NIA on March 13.’’ and now in its custody.
On Sunday too, Pasbola had sought a copy of the remand plea and raised objections to the “illegal” arrest invoking provision of section 45(2) of Criminal Procedure Code which provides the state to protect its forces engaged in maintaining public order from arrest for official actions. The special Trial court is to hear these applications on Monday evening.
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