Hiren murder case: ATS seizes high-end car from Daman

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has seized a high-end car from Daman in connection with the Mansukh Hiren murder case, an official said on Tuesday.

The Volvo car with the Maharashtra registration number was seized on Monday, the official said, adding there is no clarity so far on who owned this car.

The seized car is kept at the ATS office in Thane neighbouring Mumbai, he said.

The official said that a team of Forensic officials from Mumbai is examining the car at the ATS office.

After arresting two persons on Saturday night in connection with the murder case, the ATS detained a person from Gujarat who had allegedly provided them SIM cards, officials had said, adding they recovered many SIM cards from the person.

The ATS last week arrested suspended policeman Vinayak Shinde and cricket bookie Naresh Gaur in the case.

The SUV with explosives found near industrialist Mukesh Ambani's house in Mumbai on February 25 had been allegedly stolen from possession of Hiren, the Thane-based businessman whose body was found in a creek in Mumbra on March 5.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the case of recovery of the explosives-laden SUV and arrested Mumbai Police officer Sachin Vaze, had seized five high-end cars during its probe, including two Mercedes, 1 Prado, the Scorpio which was used to carry explosives, and an Innova car.

Read | ATS picks up SIM card provider in Mansukh Hiren death case

The ATS had said that Vaze was also a prime accused in the Hiren murder case.

The NIA suspects that at least three of the seized five cars were used by Vaze, who was posted as Assistant Police Inspector (API) with the Crime Intelligence Unit (API) when arrested on March 13. He was later suspended from service.

On Monday morning, the ATS team took accused Shinde to the residence of Vaze in Thane and later to the creek in Mumbra were Hiren's body was found.

Though the Hiren murder case was transferred to the NIA on March 20, the ATS is still conducting investigation.

On Sunday, ATS DIG Shivdeep Lande had posted a message on Facebook stating that the Hiren murder case had been cracked.

The accused Shinde was convicted in the 2006 Lakhan Bhaiya fake encounter case and came out of jail on furlough last year. He was allegedly in touch with Vaze, who himself was once known as "encounter specialist" officer since then.

Apparently, it was Shinde who had called Hiren from suburban Kandivali by identifying himself as "Tawde saheb" on March 4, according to the ATS.

The ATS had registered a murder case under section 302 (punishment for murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence or giving false information to screen offender) 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against unknown persons, days after Hiren's body was found.