The Union home ministry ordered a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the recovery of explosives from an SUV parked near the residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani. The decision sparked a fresh row between the Centre and the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, with CM Uddhav Thackeray smelling “something fishy” and state home minister Anil Deshmukh terming the move “wrong.”
Deshmukh said while the NIA had taken over the explosives case, the case pertaining to the death of Thane resident Mansukh Hiran (48), who had claimed the car belonged to him, will continue to be probed by the Anti-Terror Squad. Thackeray said the ATS was looking into the matter “but despite that, if the Centre hands it over to NIA, it would mean something is fishy. We won’t give up till we expose it.”
The NIA said it is in the process of re-registering the explosives case that was till now being probed by ATS. The NIA is empowered by the NIA Act to probe cases related to explosives and IED/bomb blasts as the Explosive Substances Act is part of the NIA ‘schedule of offences.’ For this, consent of the state government concerned is not needed. All that is required is an MHA order entrusting the case to the NIA.
Mumbai police were initially looking at the explosives angle while Mumbra police had registered an accidental death report after Hiran’s body was found in a Thane creek last Friday. The ATS took over the explosives probe after opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis made charges against assistant inspector Sachin Waze on the floor of the Assembly on Friday. After Hiran’s family said they suspected foul play, the ATS on Sunday took over that case as well and turned it into a murder investigation. A letter purportedly written by Hiran claiming harassment by the police has also surfaced.
Deshmukh said on Monday, “The state home department has received a communication from MHA on the probe into recovery of explosives having been entrusted to NIA. In our opinion, this was a wrong decision particularly when state law-enforcing agencies were moving in the right direction. Mumbai police are highly competent and professional. But since the case has been given to NIA, we will cooperate with the Central agency.”
The Explosive Substances Act was added to the NIA Schedule in 2019 through an amendment to the NIA Act. Recently, the NIA took up a case related to a blast in Murshidabad, West Bengal, in which state minister Jakir Hossain was injured. Soon after the Shiv Sena-led government assumed office, NIA had taken over the Elgar Parishad case about a Maoist conspiracy against the government. At the time, the MVA government had not objected to NIA taking over the investigation.
An NIA official said the agency, as of now, was only entrusted with the case relating to recovery of the explosives laden car outside the Ambanis’ residence Antilia. “The Mansukh Hiran case is not mentioned in the MHA order. We cannot say at this point what our investigation into the SUV case will lead us to in the future.
