Ex-Cop, Out On Parole During Antilia Case, Denied Bail. What Court Said

A special court here has held that allegations against former policeman Vinayak Shinde, an accused in the Antilia bomb scare and businessman Mansukh Hiran murder case, were true and it was not expected from a person on parole to "engage in criminal activity".

Mr Shinde, who was serving life imprisonment in the fake encounter case of Ramnarayan Gupta alias Lakhan Bhaiya, was out on parole when the Antilia bomb scare incident occurred in February 2021.

Special NIA judge A M Patil denied bail to Mr Shinde in the Antilia bomb case on January 20, and the detailed order was available on Monday.

The court said the allegation against Mr Shinde is that he helped former policeman Sachin Waze collect extortion money and obtain dummy SIM cards.

Mr Shinde's act goes to the roots of the case, it stated.

"At this juncture, it cannot be segregated and cannot be concluded that he is not guilty of an offence under section 120B (party to a criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code," the court said.

"The gravity of the act committed by the applicant (Shinde) became serious when he committed the same after getting parole leave. It is not expected that the person on parole leave should engage in criminal activity. On the other hand, it is expected that he should not engage in unlawful activities and therefore, the present applicant cannot be equated with the other accused for giving the benefit of parity," the court said.

Referring to the facts and circumstances of the case, the court said the "allegations levelled against the applicant was prima-facie true", and considering his role, Mr Shinde is not entitled to be released on bail.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has alleged that Shinde willingly entered into a well-organised conspiracy hatched by Waze to park an explosive-laden vehicle in front of industrialist Mukesh Ambani's residence along with a threat note and later kill Hiran, the vehicle owner.

This was Mr Shinde's second attempt at seeking bail.

The other accused, Naresh Gaur, an alleged cricket bookie, and Riyazuddin Kazi, a dismissed policeman, are currently out on regular bail, while the Supreme Court granted former encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma medical bail.

The probe agency has arrested 10 people in connection with the February 25, 2021 incident when an explosives-laden vehicle was found parked near 'Antilia', Ambani's residence. Hiran was found dead a few days later in neighbouring Thane.