MUMBAI: Suspended police officer Sachin Waze, through his brother Sudhram, on Monday filed a habeas corpus petition in the Bombay high court alleging that his arrest is illegal and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) intends to “target someone else”.
The habeas corpus (produce the body) is a plea to direct the NIA to produce Waze before the HC and set him free.
The petition claimed that Waze was “made a scapegoat by certain political powers” by using Vimla Hiren, the widow of Mansukh Hiren whose body was found in Kalwa creek days after his Scorpio was found parked suspiciously outside businessman Mukesh Ambani’s residence in south Mumbai last month.
NIA’s action “makes it evident that they are acting with malafide intentions and ulterior motives … to tarnish the name, image and reputation of the petitioner’s brother for reasons best known to them,” stated the plea submitted by advocate Sunny Punamiya.
Waze’s fundamental rights have been violated and his life may be at risk, the petition claimed, as the officers “can go to any extent to extract an illegal and false confession”. It added that “right before his arrest, Waze had sent a WhatsApp message to his near and dear ones that he may be trapped by his fellow officers and this time he may not survive this ordeal.”

“Waze has been wrongfully arrested in violation of the provisions laid down in the Criminal Procedure Code Section and innumerable Supreme Court judgments,” the plea said, adding: “The haste with which he was arrested clearly shows some ulterior motives and huge political influence and interference with the sole intent to use him as a scapegoat to further certain political agendas of some big interested parties.”
The petition further claimed that the case filed by Vimla with the anti-terrorism squad on March 7 against unknown persons made “false, frivolous and concocted allegations” against Waze, blaming him for her husband’s death. It added that “surprisingly, the very next day, an FIR was registered by the NIA against unknown persons”.
The petition said that Waze has no intention of absconding; in fact, he had cooperated with the NIA who interrogated him for 10 hours before arresting him.