Mumbai: A special court in Mumbai on Thursday extended till April 3 the NIA custody of Assistant Police Inspector (API) Sachin Vaze, the prime accused in the SUV case that pertains to the explosives-laden Scorpio with a threat note that was found abandoned near Antilia, the residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani.
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Vaze was produced before the Special NIA Court after his NIA custody ended on Thursday and the agency secured his custody for another nine days, exactly a month after the SUV was found near Antilia on February 25.
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In his submissions before the court, Vaze urged that the NIA plea should be rejected as he was innocent and was being framed in the entire matter."I am being made a scapegoat in this whole incident. I have nothing to do with the crime," pleaded Vaze, who was arrested on March 13, four days after the probe was handed over to the NIA on March 9 following a massive political furore.
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The NIA followed up on March 24 by invoking stringent anti-terror provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, even as it was handed over the connected case pertaining to the death of Thane businessman Mansukh Hiran.
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Thane-based businessman Hiran, who was in possession of the Scorpio, was found dead under mysterious circumstances on March 5.
IANS