Sachin Waze - arrested over the Ambani bomb scare - reported to former top cop Param Bir Singh
The NIA on Wednesday recorded former Mumbai top cop Param Bir Singh's statement as it began wrapping up its nearly month-long investigation into the Mukesh Ambani bomb scare case.
The central agency also said it would hand over "all evidence of corruption - as far as (Sachin) Waze and other Mumbai cops are concerned" to the CBI, which late last night began a 'preliminary inquiry into Mr Singh's corruption allegations against former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh
A senior NIA official said Mr Singh had been questioned on the reinstatement of Sachin Waze - the Mumbai cop arrested in connection with the bomb scare - after a 16-year period. He was also questioned over his (Waze's) posting to the Crime Branch and the cases that he was assigned.
According to the NIA official, the timeline of Waze's postings and cases had to be cross-checked, and that was why questioning Mr Singh - who was Mumbai Police Commissioner - was significant.
"We were waiting for the Bombay High Court to decided on a petition filed by Param Bir Singh... now that it has been decided that we too need to record his statement," the official said.
Sachin Waze - who has also been named in a Rs 100 crore extortion racket involving the former Maharashtra Home Minister, who resigned Monday - worked under and reported to Param Bir Singh.
One of several headline points from the ongoing investigation into Waze is the recovery of a number of luxury vehicles that were parked at the office of the Mumbai Police Commissioner.
The NIA "wanted clarity on this too", the official said.
The NIA has also claimed that neither the Maharashtra government nor the Mumbai Police co-operated with them when they began their investigation on March 9.
An agency source said it was only after Waze was arrested, and the first of several luxury cars were recovered, that "the Maharashtra government realised we were on the right track".
Waze, meanwhile, will also be questioned by the CBI while in NIA custody.
The CBI had petitioned a special NIA court for this purpose.
"We are handing all evidence of corruption - as far as Waze and other Mumbai cops are concerned - gathered during our probe to the CBI," a senior NIA official said.
The NIA has, so far, questioned over three dozen Mumbai cops and believe they have insights into how the system was manipulated and the alleged extortion racket was run.
Separately, this evening the NIA's custody of Waze was extended till Friday.
The NIA special court also sent two other accused - dismissed police constable Vinayak Shinde and cricket bookie Naresh Gor - to judicial custody for 14 days.