The National Investigation Agency on Wednesday invoked the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against suspended Mumbai Police crime branch officer Sachin Vaze in connection with the Mukesh Ambani bomb scare case, ANI reported.

Unidentified NIA officials said that the quantity of explosives recovered from the car that was found near Ambani’s residence in Mumbai last month points to terrorist action, NDTV reported.

Vaze was charged under Sections 16 (recruiting any person for commission of a terrorist act) and 18 (punishment for conspiracy) of the UAPA, according to the Hindustan Times.

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Vaze had been arrested by the NIA on March 13 after being questioned about his alleged links with auto parts dealer Mansukh Hiren, the reported owner of the SUV that was found outside Ambani’s house Antilia. Hiren was found dead near Mumbai on March 5.

A day after Vaze’s arrest, a court in Mumbai sent him to NIA custody till March 25. The Mumbai Police suspended him on March 15.

Hiren’s wife had alleged that Vaze, the first investigating officer in the bomb scare case, had used the car found outside Ambani’s residence for four months and returned it on February 5. She had also accused Vaze of having a role in her husband’s death.

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Last week, the Centre had handed over the inquiry into Hiren’s death to the central agency. The NIA is already investigating the case related to the recovery of the explosives. Investigation agencies have so far seized six vehicles in connection with the case.

Vaze had earlier been charged with criminal intimidation and negligence in dealing with explosives, India Today reported.

Twenty gelatin sticks were recovered from a black Scorpio found less than two kilometres from Ambani’s multi-storey home Antilia on February 25. The police had said that the gelatin recovered from the car was the commercial type that is used in mining and construction.