The TLDR: The Ambani SUV case has thrown up all sorts of twists, but each turn throws up more questions—and very few answers. The latest developments include two new arrests, bombshell allegations by a top cop, an under-pressure minister and rumours of a political rift. Bollywood has been officially put to shame.

Note: For a refresher, check out our March 8 explainer on the basic details of this case.

The plot twists: A quick recap

• On February 25, an SUV was found parked outside Mukesh Ambani’s home. 
• The needle of suspicion pointed to its owner: Mansukh Hiran, owner of an auto interiors shop—who was found murdered on March 5. 
• Then all hell broke loose. Soon the National Investigation Agency stepped in to take the case away from the Mumbai police. 
• And the needle of suspicion swung again—this time toward one of the top cops in the city, Sachin Vaze, who is now the prime suspect. 
• The Shiv Sena government quickly sacked the commissioner of police to save face—to only have that dreadful needle flip right back at their own face, this time pointing to the state’s home minister, no less.

A new theory of the crime

Since the NIA took over the case, it has laid out a damning series of allegations that point the finger squarely at Sachin Vaze, former Assistant Police Inspector in the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU). 

The prime suspect: There’s been a lot of ink spilled on Vaze (also spelled Waze by some media outlets), but here are the key bits you need to know about him:

• He is one of the most feared and powerful cops in the Mumbai police force. He earned his reputation in the bloody 1990s—as part of an elite force of ‘encounter specialists’ tasked with taking down formidable gangsters, no questions asked. 
• Vaze was finally suspended in 2004—for the custodial death of Khwaja Yunus, a suspect in a bombing case—after being implicated in at least 60 encounter cases. 
• A co-suspect claimed Yunus had been stripped, assaulted and was vomiting blood. So yeah, Vaze is that kind of guy.
• In 2008, he joined the Shiv Sena—with the blessing of the party chief Bal Thackeray who had a special affection for encounter-loving cops.
• But his political career appears to have floundered—as did his many cyber security startup ideas (?!). 
• Vaze was finally reinstated in 2020—still implicated in the Yunus case that remains unresolved. 
• The immediate excuse: The pandemic which had claimed the lives of many policemen, and created an urgent need to reinforce the ranks.
• Vaze was then given charge of a number of high-profile investigations—including Arnab Goswami’s ratings case.
• Shiv Sena later claimed Vaze was on the BJP’s “hitlist” ever since he took on Goswami.

The new SUV theory: claims that Vaze master-minded the entire SUV incident, and killed Mansukh Hiran. Here’s the NIA timeline:

• Vaze met with Hiran on February 17—the day he reported his Scorpio missing, a fact captured in ten minutes of CCTV footage. 
• In fact, the car was not stolen but handed over to Vaze—who kept it parked at his residence, which is why he later seized CCTV footage from his own residential building.
• On the fateful day, Vaze drove a white Innova that escorted the gelatin-laden SUV to the location outside Ambani’s home. The SUV was likely driven by cops belonging to Vaze’s Crime Intelligence unit.
• Vaze was spotted on camera near the location—in a kurta-pajama and a scarf wrapped around his head—soon after the SUV was parked there.
• Vaze then took the Innova back and parked it in the Crime Intelligence compound—where it was later found by the cops.

The new murder theory: The Mumbai Anti Terrorism (ATS) squad arrested two people yesterday—a convicted cop out on parole and a bookie—in connection with Hiran’s murder. They claim:

• Vaze ordered the hit when Hiran refused to become the fall guy for the SUV case.
• He therefore recruited these two men. The constable, Vinayak Shinde, worked with Vaze back in the day—and has been convicted of the encounter killings of two gangsters. 
• The plot was put into motion after a two-hour meeting on March 2—and carried out by the two men, while Vaze gave himself an alibi.
• Vaze also forced Hiran to write an open letter to the CM, police commissioner etc.—in which he complained about police pressure affecting his mental health.
• Hiran was attacked in a moving car on March 4, and later thrown in the Thane creek while he was still alive—as per the post mortem report.
• The ATS insists that a number of other cops are involved in the killing, and has promised to arrest them soon.

Vaze’s motive: The biggest question about Vaze is this: Why the hell did he do it? And ATS’ explanation is kinda lame (unless we take Vaze’s failed startup ideas seriously). Here’s what “officials” told the Times of India:

“There are two theories regarding Waze’s reasons for fabricating a terror case. ‘Waze would crack the case and become a super cop. Or he and some other cops, including a senior officer, were hoping to get into a private security firm being launched by a corporate,’ said an official.”

That said, according to Indian Express, Vaze himself told the NIA investigators that he did it for “personal glory”—but they too are “taking this explanation with a pinch of salt.”

The new political bombshell

If things weren’t weird enough, the case took another unexpected direction courtesy Mumbai Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh. Under pressure from the BJP over Vaze’s reinstatement in the ranks, the Shiv Sena government decided to cut him loose. Soon after his transfer, Singh penned an eight-page letter that scorched the Home Minister, Anil Deshmukh.

Meet Param Bir Singh: Here’s what you need to know about this guy:

• He too is an alumni of the dreader encounter squads of the 1990s—and Vaze worked under him during that time. Yes, the Mumbai police is incestuous like that.
• The decision to reinstate Vaze was made at a meeting with Singh. And rumours are that Vaze reported directly to Singh—and not his immediate superiors.
• He is infamous for a 2018 press conference on the Bhima Koregaon case (explained here)—which resulted in the arrests of a number of well-respected activists and intellectuals. 
• At the time he claimed to have proof of their association with Maoist extremists, and accused them of “brainwashing people, recruiting students from TISS and JNU for insurgency work.”
• Singh also endeared himself to Shiv Sena ally, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)—led by Sharad Pawar—when he filed a court affidavit clearing his nephew (and Deputy CM) Ajit Pawar of all wrongdoing in an irrigation scam.
• At the time of his appointment, there was speculation that it had the blessing of Home Minister Anil Deshmukh—NCP’s main man in the coalition cabinet.

The bombshell letter: Within days of being ousted from his post, Singh penned an eight-page letter scorching Deshmukh—accusing him of corruption and political interference. Specifically:

“In and around mid-February and thereafter, the Hon’ble Home Minister had called Shri Vaze to his official residence… The Hon’ble Home Minister expressed to Shri Vaze that he had a target to accumulate Rs. 100 crores a month. For achieving the aforesaid target, the Hon’ble Home Minister told Shri Vaze that there are about 1,750 bars, restaurants and other establishments in Mumbai and if a sum of Rs. 2-3 lakhs each was collected from each of them, a monthly collection of Rs. 40-50 crores was achievable. The Hon’ble Home Minister added that the rest of the collection could be made from other sources.”

Also this: Singh has receipts—i.e. he cites WhatsApp messages with fellow cops that affirm Deshmukh’s repeated demands that the cops collect hafta.  

The political fallout...

Is still unclear. There is talk of a rift within the coalition ranks—which would be disastrous for the Shiv Sena. The reason: legislative math. The party needs 145 seats in the Assembly to hold on to power—and has only 56. So it needs Congress (44) and the Nationalist Congress Party (54) to keep its gaddi. 

The big sticking point: The fate of Anil Deshmukh. Inside sources indicate that Congress and the Shiv Sena want to jettison the dead weight, but NCP is dragging its feet. One NCP minister says:

“It all depends upon the three parties [of the ruling coalition government: Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP]. If all are ready and could decide their names of those involved, there would be a reshuffle and only then Deshmukh may be replaced. Until then he is likely to continue as the home minister.”

But for now, all three are putting on a brave united front—even as the BJP thunders for Deshmukh’s head. 

Point to note: The kingmaker in Maharashtra is Sharad Pawar, but he’s publicly passed the buck to Uddhav Thackeray, saying it is the “prerogative of the Chief Minister to take an appropriate decision.” 

The bottomline: Pawar also suggested that Julio Ribeiro—the legendary former police commissioner—be tasked with investigating the allegations. To which Ribeiro responded: 

“If I am asked to conduct an inquiry, I will refuse. Please understand that I am 92 years old. I do not have the ability to make such an inquiry. Even if I had the ability, I would have refused because this is a very murky affair and it is not meant for people like me… The inquiry must be made by Sharad Pawar himself. He is the head of the party. They know everything and should take action… All of this is happening because of ambitious police officers and unscrupulous politicians.”

Amen.

Reading list

India Today and Indian Express have the best profiles of Sachin Vaze. The Print profiles Param Bir Singh. You can read Singh’s entire letter over at Economic Times. Times of India has the latest arrests in Hiran’s murder. Hindustan Times has the political strain on the coalition government. Also read: our previous explainer which has all the details on how this case kicked off.