The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday informed a special NIA court that it had taken Manish Soni, an accused in Antilla bomb scare - Mansukh Hiran murder case, before a magistrate for recording his statement under Sec 164 of the CrPC.
The court was expecting Soni to be produced before it for remand as his custody with the agency ended on Monday. The court and Soni’s lawyer Rahul Arote waited past court working hours that are restricted till 2 PM due to the pandemic. At 5.30, the agency informed the court that Soni was already remanded in judicial custody by the magistrate court inadvertently where they had taken him for recording his confessional statement. It told the court that it sought his judicial custody and the court remanded Soni in judicial custody till 17 July, same as done by the magistrate, after noting the happenings before the magistrate.
Advocate Arote called the order ‘illegal’ and said he would be exploring options. While the court had extended the NIA custody last week of Soni and his co-accused Satish Mothkuri till Monday, the agency produced Mothkuri on Friday and sought his judicial custody, which was granted by the court.
The NIA has alleged the role of the duo in the murder of auto parts dealer Mansukh Hiran and said that while Mothkuri had smothered him, Soni was driving the car on the day of the incident. They got huge cash for their involvement and had gone to Nepal soon after the murder, it had claimed further. The two had acted at the behest of former cop Pradeep Sharma and Sachin Vaze, now dismissed from service after his arrest in the case.
