Antilia bomb scare case: NIA arrests former cop Pradeep Sharma

Taking the investigations further, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday arrested former police officer and ‘encounter specialist’ Pradeep Sharma and two others in connection with the twin cases of planting of gelatin sticks-laden Scorpio near the home Reliance Industries Ltd Chairman Mukesh Ambani and killing of SUV owner Mansukh Hiren.

Sharma, a former Senior Police Inspector, who has eliminated 103 criminals in his 35-year-long police career, is now associated with the Shiv Sena.

In the wee hours, the NIA teams swooped at Sharma’s residence in Andheri suburbs of Mumbai, while the police officer-turned-politician was picked up from Lonavala in Pune district.

He was brought to Mumbai and interrogated in NIA office after which he was taken to the Sir JJ Hospital for a mandatory medical check-up and produced before a special court, which remanded him to custody till June 28.

The two others accused who were arrested were identified as Satish Mutekari alias Tanni Bhai alias Vicky Baba and Manish Soni, both residents of Malad suburbs of Mumbai.

With this, the total number of arrests in the sensational case has shot up to 10.

Also read: Meet Pradeep Sharma, the Dirty Harry of Mumbai Police

The seven other accused in the case are Assistant Police Inspector Vaze, Assistant Police Inspector Riyazuddin Qazi, Inspector Sunil Mane, Vinayak Shinde, a dismissed constable undergoing life sentence and a bookie, Naresh Gor, Santosh Atmaram Shelar and Anand Pandurang Jadhav.

Vaze, Qazi and Mane have now been dismissed by the Mumbai Police.

The tech-savvy Vaze, who was attached to the Crime Intelligence Unit of Crime Branch, was mentored as an officer by Sharma.

In fact, Sharma has worked under the then Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, now the Commandant General of Home Guards, in several phases of his career in Mumbai and Thane.

The NIA has seized a revolver from Sharma’s home.

However, the former cop told the court: “The weapons recovered from me are licensed weapons but the license expired and didn't renew it. I am a former police officer. If I had anything to do with the murder, why wasn't I arrested earlier? This is a conspiracy against me. There's a group in Mumbai police and they are targeting me.”

Shelar is an informant of Sharma, to which he said: “Santosh Shelar has been my informant for the last 12 years... that's why we were in touch. He works for my foundation. If I have done something, what is my exact role?”

According to the allegations, Shelar has called Sharma and Vaze after the killing of Hiren.