The special court at Thane on Wednesday directed the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) to hand over all case papers in the Antilia case and the Mansukh Hiran murder case to the National Investigation Agency.
Representing the NIA, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh said as per the Central government directions, the State and the ATS police officers shall not proceed with the investigation and shall transfer the relevant documents to the Central agency.
However, the public prosecutor appearing for the ATS told the court that there is no direction from the State government to transfer the investigation of this ATS crime. She said it is hence the duty of the officer in-charge of the ATS to continue with the investigation and the application is not maintainable.
The court recorded, in the present crime, the Central government has given directions to the NIA under Section 6 (investigation of scheduled offences) and 8 (power to investigate connected offences) of the NIA Act to investigate this crime as it is connected with the scheduled offences.
Chief judicial magistrate PP Ingale said, “In the present circumstances, police officer of ATS shall not proceed with the investigation in this crime and transmit all relevant documents and records to the concerned officer of NIA without any delay.
“The record proceedings [court records], case documents, material objects/articles/properties and miscellaneous case papers of ATS crime are hereby transferred to special court at City Civil and Sessions Court.”
The NIA charged suspended assistant police inspector Sachin Vaze — accused of the death of Mansukh Hiran, an auto parts dealer linked to the car found next to Mukesh Ambani’s residence — with the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). He is under the NIA’s custody and booked under Sections 16 (punishment for terrorist act) and 18 (punishment for conspiracy, etc) of the UAPA.