Updated On: 24 December, 2022 07:38 AM IST | Mumbai | Faizan Khan
Court says other cops also followed prime accused Sachin Waze’s order but were made witness in the case; adds that NIA failed to provide any evidence

Dismissed Assistant Inspector Riyazuddin Kazi outside a court in April 2021. File pic
The Bombay High Court on Friday granted bail to dismissed cop Riyazuddin Kazi, an accused in the Antilia threat case. The court said that there was no evidence in the charge sheet to prove Kazi’s involvement in the case. The NIA had claimed that Kazi was part of the conspiracy along with main accused Sachin Waze, another dismissed cop, to plant a Scorpio outside industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence. The agency had also alleged that Kazi helped destroy the evidence and was also part of the conspiracy to kill Thane-based businessman Mansukh Hiren.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested Kazi in April 2021 after the arrest of Waze in the Antilia case. The agency had relied on statements of Kazi’s colleague and prime witness API Prakash Howal. Kazi’s lawyer Advocate Zeeshan Khan, however, told the court that Kazi was only following instructions given by his superior Waze. The lawyer also mentioned that there were several others who did the same but were made witness in the case while Kazi was made an accused.