The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad announced on Sunday that it had solved the case of Mansukh Hiren’s murder and named Sachin Vaze as the key conspirator and ‘wanted accused.’ On Twitter, Maharashtra ATS DIG Shivdeep Lande announced that his team had solved the mystery Mansukh Hiren murder case. The announcement came just hours after the ATS arrested two people, Naresh Gor and Vinayak Shinde, for their alleged involvement in Hiren’s death.
According to sources, Gor is a cricket bookie, while Shinde is a constable convicted in a 2006 case of abetment and aiding in the murder of Lakhan Bhaiyya, a Chhota Rajan aide. Sachin Vaze, who is currently in NIA custody, is the key conspirator and has been named as the “wanted to be accused” in Gor and Shinde’s remand application, which was granted on Sunday.
According to sources, Gor and Shinde were arrested based on technical evidence gathered by ATS during the investigation. An ATS source told that Gor, a Kutch resident, obtained eight SIM cards illegally from Gujarat and passed them on to Shinde, which led to the duo’s arrest. According to the report, Shinde acted as a middleman and turned over the SIM cards to Sachin Vaze.
Vaze got the cards in the first week of February. According to sources, Hiren’s assassins called pretending to be Tawde and using one of the eight confiscated SIM cards. According to the report, Shinde was fired from the force because he was a convicted felon serving a life sentence. Due to the pandemic, he was released on parole in May 2020. Shinde had been in continuous contact with Vaze since then, promising to “assist him in all his illegal activities.”
According to a source, Shinde was frequently seen at the CIU office in the Mumbai commissionerate. Shinde is also suspected of planting gelatin sticks near Antilia, according to the ATS. According to the report, the ATS confiscated three cellphones and eight SIM cards from Shinde and Gor.
The ATS stated in its remand application that is needed to determine the reason for Hiren’s murder while seeking custody of Gor and Shinde. It also stated that evidence was required to establish a link between the car theft, explosives, and the assassination. “We need to find the vehicle that was used to kill Hiran. We must also seize the phones used to contact him,” said in remand application.
