In what started as a terror probe by the ATS after gelatin stick-laden Mahindra Scorpio was found outside industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence in Mumbai, has now expanded into a multi-agency investigation into a terror-cum-extortion racket operated with the alleged blessings of top ministers and police officers.
A top source said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is waiting for the preliminary investigation report from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to launch its own money-laundering probe under the stringent Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against main accused Sachin Waze, a sub-inspector posted with the Crime Intelligence Unit of the Mumbai police and the main suspect behind Mukesh Ambani terror case.
Waze’s call records and allegations made by his superiors have revealed he was directly taking orders from Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh.
The probe against Waze, who is currently in NIA custody, is likely to be taken over by the ED to establish a money trail in the alleged terror-cum-extortion racket, in which the role of some senior ministers of the Sena-NCP-Congress government is not ruled out.
On Saturday afternoon, former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh sent a letter to the chief minister and the governor of Maharashtra stating that home minister Anil Deshmukh had given a target to Waze and some other senior cops for “collection” of Rs 100 crore every month.
Surjitt Sahani
