The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted bail to Pradeep Sharma, a former Mumbai Police officer, who had been taken into custody in connection the Antilia bomb scare case and the manslaughter of businessman Mansukh Hiran.
The incident unfolded on February 25, 2021, when an SUV loaded with explosives was discovered near the residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani, known as ‘Antilia,’ situated in the southern part of Mumbai. Subsequently, on March 5, 2021, businessman Mansukh Hiran, who was associated with the said SUV, was found deceased in a creek located in the adjacent Thane area.
Pradeep Sharma, along with fellow police officers Daya Nayak, Vijay Salaskar, and Ravindranath Angre, had constituted the Mumbai Police’s encounter squad. This squad was accountable for the killings of more than 300 criminals in a series of encounters. It is worth noting that Vijay Salaskar had tragically lost his life during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.
The primary accused in the case of planting explosives near Antilia and the murder of Mansukh Hiran is the dismissed police officer Sachin Waze.
Notably, a bench of Justice comprising A S Bopanna and Justice P S Narasimha had reserved their judgment on August 21. This decision followed the arguments put forth by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Pradeep Sharma, and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, representing the National Investigation Agency (NIA) that is responsible for investigating the case.
Pradeep Sharma was taken into custody in June 2021 in relation to the aforementioned case.