RELYING ON the forensic reports submitted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) last week, dismissed cop Sachin Waze has claimed that he had nothing to do with the Scorpio car parked near Antilia, the residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani in 2021, stating the DNA sample taken from the car did not match his. On February 25, 2021, the Scorpio was found parked near the residence with gelatin sticks and a threat note inside it. The NIA alleges that Waze had driven the car, sat in it for nearly five minutes after it was parked near Antilia and had even returned to it to look for his police identity card on the night of the incident. On Saturday, the NIA submitted two volumes of documents containing analyses of forensic science laboratories on various evidence collected in the case. Waze, while arguing for bail this week, referred to reports submitted by the NIA on the DNA traces found in the Scorpio car, claiming that there is no scientific evidence to show his presence. The reports relate to DNA samples drawn from the Scorpio car and its comparison with the DNA of five Mumbai police’s Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) officials including Waze and a driver of the unit, who had also driven the car for a distance, to confirm their presence in the car on the day of the incident. One of the reports states that the DNA profiles of the five persons including Waze are not matching the samples drawn from the car. Another report on the Scorpio states that the DNA samples extracted from the car have very low molecular weight and hence they could not be compared with the DNA of the five officials, hence the DNA testing is inconclusive. The agency claims that Waze was involved in the parking of the SUV on Carmichael Road around 2.10 am on February 25, 2021. The NIA had also made Waze undergo a gait analysis test to present evidence about his presence near Antilia. CCTV footage from a camera in the area had shown a person walking in a long kurta with a white mask around 4.30am near the car. The NIA claims that this person was Waze, who had returned to find his identity card which he feared he had forgotten in the car. Based on the CCTV footage, the NIA had in the presence of forensic experts made Waze walk the same path, and conducted a frame by frame examination and analysis of the video recordings. The report submitted by the forensic expert states that ‘similarities’ were observed in the walking movements and body action of the person seen in the CCTV footage and Waze, while also stating that the body structure of the person was not possible for a comparison based on the same samples. Advocate Rounak Naik, while arguing for bail for Waze, said that this showed that there was a ‘contradiction’ in the reports.
