Suspended Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Waze, arrested earlier this week by NIA for his alleged role in the Ambani security scare, was chargesheeted in 2018 by Vasai police’s crime branch for allegedly destroying evidence in an extortion case filed on the complaint of a developer.

Waze was not part of Mumbai Police then, as he had been suspended in 2004 in connection to the custodial death of Khwaja Yunus. He was reinstated on June 5, 2020.

Vijay Sagar, DCP of Mira-Bhayandar Vasai-Virar police, said that Waze was chargesheeted for extortion. Crime branch sources said he was never arrested, as he had secured anticipatory bail. While the trial is yet to begin in the case, Waze was accused by the local crime branch of violating his anticipatory bail conditions.

According to case details, in 2017, a real estate developer had lodged a complaint at Vasai police station, alleging that a gang was extorting from him and threatening to take action against his project in Naigaon. The complainant had named Dr Anil Yadav (42) and his aide Amol Patil (46) in the FIR registered on March 26, 2017.

The modus operandi of the gang was to collect information about developers under the Right to Information Act and threaten to take action against them. The FIR says a gang member had allegedly pointed a licensed pistol owned by Yadav and threatened to kill the complainant un less he paid the extortion. The accused had allegedly demanded Rs 25 lakh and extorted Rs 2 lakh. They were threatening him for the rest of the amount, the FIR says.

“The complainant had not named Waze in the FIR. Waze’s name cropped up during investigations,m along with the name of a former corporator from Nalasopara. But the corporator was not named in the chargesheet, as there was no strong evidence,” an officer said.

Waze had allegedly helped Anil Yadav flee to Ghaziabad in 2017 and further tutored him on how to destroy evidence by throwing away his cellphone.