The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrested Inspector Sunil Mane who was recently transferred to the Local Arms Unit from Unit 11 of the Mumbai Crime Branch. He headed unit 11 and is the third serving officer of Mumbai police arrested in connection with the Ambani bomb scare and Mansukh Hiran murder case. Earlier, the agency arrested API Sachin Waze and his close aide API Riyazuddin Qazi. The NIA also carried out searches at unit 11 of Mumbai Crime Branch on Friday.

The agency which initially suspected it was Waze who had called Hiran on the night of March 4 posing as Kandivli officer Tawde, now claims to have got crucial links which establish that Mane had posed as Tawde. “There is prima facie evidence that he was present at the spot and called Mansukh on WhatsApp posing as Tawde. As Mansukh was known to him, he came to meet him at Ghodbandar,” an NIA officer said.