Special NIA sends ex-encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma to police custody till June 28

Special NIA court in Mumbai on Thursday sent former 'encounter specialist' of Mumbai Police Pradeep Sharma and two other accused to police custody till June 28, in connection with Mansukh Hiren death case.  Sharma and two others were produced before the Special NIA court today.

NIA had raided Sharma's Andheri home and later detained him, as part of the ongoing probe into the cases of SUV planting and businessman Mansukh Hiren murder on Thursday morning. An NIA team along with the Mumbai Police swooped at his home, carried out searches and later detained Sharma for questioning.

Sharma, a controversial former Senior Police Inspector and later a Shiv Sena activist, had been earlier interrogated by the NIA a couple of times last April.

Last week, the NIA had arrested two other persons Santosh Atmaram Shelar and Anand Pandurang Jadhav, both from a slum pocket in Kurar village of Malad east for their roles in the twin cases.

Police sources said that after their custodial interrogation more details of Sharma emerged and culminated in today's action.

Earlier, the NIA had arrested five other persons including former policemen like Sachin Vaze, Riyazuddin Kazi, Sunil Mane, a convicted ex-cop Vinayak Shinde and a cricket bookies Naresh Gor.

Sharma is reported to be close to Vaze, who is named as one of the prime accused in the SUV-Hiren case, and the duo had allegedly met in early-March when the plot to eliminate Hiren was hatched, while Sharma had gone to the Mumbai Police Commissionerate to meet some other persons.

#UPDATE | Special NIA court in Mumbai sends former 'encounter specialist' of Mumbai Police Pradeep Sharma and two other accused to police custody till June 28, in connection with Mansukh Hiren death case

— ANI (@ANI) June 17, 2021