Mumbai's Esplanade Court on Saturday sent dismissed Mumbai police officer Sachin Waze to police custody till November 13 in connection with an extortion case.
The Mumbai Police told the court that Waze extorted large amounts of money from cricket bookies on the instructions of former police commissioner Param Bir Singh, now an absconding accused in an extortion case.
The remand plea filed through special public prosecutor Shekhar Jagtap alleged that the duo would threaten the bookies with FIRs to extort money. The magistrate’s court sent Waze to further custody of the police following a submission through his lawyer Rounak Naik that he was willing to concede and be sent to police’s custody to cooperate with the probe.
The crime branch had filed an application for recording of the statement of a witness in the extortion case under Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) 164. The court has allowed the application and statement to be recorded on November 8.
Earlier on November 1, Esplanade Court had sent Sachin Waze to Crime Branch's custody till November 6 in connection with an extortion case. However, the Crime Branch had sought 10-day custody of Waze in the matter.
A case of extortion was registered on July 23 against Sachin Waze, former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh and others at Goregaon Police Station and the investigation was handed over to the Mumbai Crime Branch.
The Chandiwal Judicial Commission had issued a bailable warrant against Param Bir Singh, in connection with an alleged corruption case of Rs 100 crore.
Singh had alleged that former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, who has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), had indulged in "malpractices" and asked suspended Mumbai Police officer Sachin Waze to collect Rs 100 crores every month.
NIA arrested Waze in March in connection with the investigation into the recovery of explosives from a car parked near Mukesh Ambani's house in Mumbai. Waze is the prime accused of placing an explosives-laden vehicle near Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani's house Antilia in Mumbai on February 25.
Waze was also accused of the murder of Mansukh Hiren, the owner of the vehicle that was found containing explosives materials outside Antilia. Hiren was found dead on March 5 in Thane.
Waze, former Assistant Police Inspector in the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU), was later transferred to the Citizen Facilitation Centre at Mumbai Police Headquarters after his name came up in Mansukh Hiren's death case.
Waze was dismissed from service in May 2021.
(With agency inputs)