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As the chassis and engine number were scratched, police contacted the finance company Wadhwa Motors Cars & Finance, whose name and number were written on the rear glass of the vehicle. The real registration number was found to be MH02 AY 2815, and registered at Thane RTO in 2007 by Sam Peter Newton. Newton led them to [[Mansukh Hiren]], who identified the vehicle through its seat covers and a Ganesha idol. As per Hiren's statements to the Crime Branch, Newton, whom he knew since 2016, had brought the vehicle to his car decor shop in order to get it fitted with some accessories. When Newton was not able to pay the bill, he allowed Hiren to use the car until the payment was made. Hiren had handed over the vehicle to [[Sachin Vaze]], who was his regular client, who used it for 4 months from November 2020. On February 5, 2021, Vaze returned the vehicle with a complaint of a stiff steering wheel.<ref name="another twist"/>
As the chassis and engine number were scratched, police contacted the finance company Wadhwa Motors Cars & Finance, whose name and number were written on the rear glass of the vehicle. The real registration number was found to be MH02 AY 2815, and registered at Thane RTO in 2007 by Sam Peter Newton. Newton led them to [[Mansukh Hiren]], who identified the vehicle through its seat covers and a Ganesha idol. As per Hiren's statements to the Crime Branch, Newton, whom he knew since 2016, had brought the vehicle to his car decor shop in order to get it fitted with some accessories. When Newton was not able to pay the bill, he allowed Hiren to use the car until the payment was made. Hiren had handed over the vehicle to [[Sachin Vaze]], who was his regular client, who used it for 4 months from November 2020. On February 5, 2021, Vaze returned the vehicle with a complaint of a stiff steering wheel.<ref name="another twist"/>


The car was in Hiren's possession until February 16, when he parked it on the Mulund-Airoli Link Road after the steering wheel became jammed. When he went to pick it up the next day, the car was missing. He filed a complaint in the Vikhroli Police Station in which he mentioned that the car belonged to his friend Dr. Sam Newton.<ref name="twist"/> The Vikhroli police were not able to trace it during the time. Hiren claimed that he had recently used it on only four to five occasions because he wanted to sell it.<ref name="family"/>
The car was in Hiren's possession until February 16, when he parked it on the [[Airoli Bridge|Mulund-Airoli Link Road]] after the steering wheel became jammed. When he went to pick it up the next day, the car was missing. He filed a complaint in the Vikhroli Police Station in which he mentioned that the car belonged to his friend Dr. Sam Newton.<ref name="twist"/> The Vikhroli police were not able to trace it during the time. Hiren claimed that he had recently used it on only four to five occasions because he wanted to sell it.<ref name="family"/>
On investigating the vehicle when it was found near Antilia, there were no marks indicating forced entry of doors, and the police suspected that the vehicle may have been stolen using a duplicate key.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/antilia-bomb-threat-no-marks-of-forcible-entry-seen-on-suv-found-near-mukesh-ambani-house-690642| title=No marks of forcible entry seen on SUV found near Ambani's house: police| date=March 12, 2021| author=PTI }}</ref>
On investigating the vehicle when it was found near Antilia, there were no marks indicating forced entry of doors, and the police suspected that the vehicle may have been stolen using a duplicate key.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/antilia-bomb-threat-no-marks-of-forcible-entry-seen-on-suv-found-near-mukesh-ambani-house-690642| title=No marks of forcible entry seen on SUV found near Ambani's house: police| date=March 12, 2021| author=PTI }}</ref>


Revision as of 10:08, 8 May 2021

The Antilia bomb scare was caused on February 25, 2021, when a car containing 20 explosive gelatin sticks was found outside Indian industrialist Mukesh Ambani's residence Antilia in Mumbai.[1][2] A note found inside the vehicle addressing Mukesh and wife Nita Ambani, said that this was just a trailer, and threatened of more to come.[3][4] The vehicle was traced to Mansukh Hiren, a car decor shop owner from Thane, who had reported it stolen a week prior. The case took a turn when within a week of investigations, Hiren was found dead in a creek in Mumbai. Sachin Vaze, a Mumbai Police officer who was known to Hiren, and was previously using the vehicle, was arrested for his involvement in placing the explosive-laden vehicle. As a fallout, Commissioner of Police Mumbai, Param Bir Singh to whom Vaze was reporting directly, was transferred out of his post. Singh wrote a letter to the Chief Minister alleging that Vaze was extorting at the behest of the Home Minister Anil Deshmukh. Deshmukh resigned his post after the Bombay High Court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to inquire into the allegations of the letter.

Threat

An SUV, a green coloured Scorpio, was parked about 400 metres from Antilia on February 25, 2021 at around 2 am. As it was a No Parking zone, the traffic police attached a clamp to it in the morning, and generated an electronic fine receipt.[5] The police were alerted by a call from the security manager of Antilia.[6] The vehicle had a fake number plate and the chassis and engine number were scratched.[7] The gelatin sticks, weighing 2.5kg, found in the vehicle were not assembled, and there was no detonator or battery. They were commercial-grade and not military-grade explosives, but had enough capacity to blow up the car, and impact a radius of 350 metres.[8][9] Several other number plates were found in the car some of which matched vehicles in the security team of the Ambanis,[10] and one identical to the car used by Nita Ambani.[11] A letter was found next to the driver's seat in a bag with the Mumbai Indians logo. The printed letter addressed to Mukesh and Nita Ambani, said that this was just a trailer, and arrangements have been made for a severe result for the next time. The language used was Hindi with a mix of English, with several visible spelling mistakes.[6]

A lesser-known terror outfit the Jaish-Ul-Hind denied responsibility after a post in its name on Telegram claiming responsibility for parking the vehicle, and seeking a ransom at the address of cryptocurrency, Monero.[12]

Death of Mansukh Hiren

The presumed owner of the car, Mansukh Hiren, who had filed a police complaint about the vehicle being stolen, was later found dead. The body, which was found floating in the Kalwa creek on the morning of March 5, had a face mask on with 5 handkerchiefs rolled and kept behind the mask.[13] His belongings like phone, gold chain, wallet were not found.[14] The same day, Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis said he had the phone call records showing that Assistant Police Inspector (API) Sachin Vaze of the Mumbai Police, who was the Investigating Officer of the Antilia bomb scare case till the previous day, had been in touch with Hiren in June and July 2020, prior to the bomb scare case. Fadnavis termed this as suspicious and requested for a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe. Later the same day, both the Hiren death case and the bomb scare case were transferred to the ATS of Mumbai Police.[15]

The post-mortem was conducted at Hirenat Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj hospital in Kalwa. It did not specify the cause of death,[16] but reported multiple abrasions that occurred before death.[13] A diatom test suggested that Hiren was alive when falling into the creek.[17] An accidental death report was filed at Mumbra police station. The Hiren death case was transferred to the Anti-Terrorism Squad on the basis of an order issued by the Maharashtra Home Department.[18]

As per the family members of Hiren, he was called to the Mumbai CP office almost everyday with regards to the Scorpio case, and was asked the same questions. He had submitted a complaint to the Mumbai and Thane police commissioners, about harassment by the police. They said that he was in his car decor shop in Thane when he got a call around 8 pm. The caller identified himself as Tawde, posing as an investigator in the bomb scare case. Hiren told his son that he was going to Ghodbunder area in Thane to meet a Crime Branch official from Kandivali unit. His phone was switched off since 10.30 pm. When he was not reachable by the next morning, his family filled a missing report at the Naupada police station.[15] Following the recovery of his body, his wfe filed a FIR where she said that she suspected Sachin Vaze of killing her husband. In her complaint, she mentioned the dates when Hiren and Vaze had met. She said that it was Vaze who had advised Hiren of submitting a complaint of harassment by the police and media to the Chief Minister. Vaze had also asked him to get himself arrested, and Hiren had spoken to a lawyer for anticipatory bail.[14]

After his name came up in connection with the death case, Vaze was transferred on March 10 out of the Mumbai Crime Branch to the Citizen Facilitation Centre at Mumbai Police Headquarters,[19] while the bomb scare case was transferred to ACP Nitin Alakhnure.[15]

In a March 21 statement, the Maharashtra Anti-terrorism squad named Vaze as the prime suspect in Mansukh Hiren’s death. Earlier on March 13, after over 12 hours of questioning, Vaze was arrested by the National Investigation Agency for his involvement in placing the explosives-laden vehicle near Antilia.[20][21]

Extortion allegation

Vaze's supervisor, Param Bir Singh, who had worked closely with him, was removed from his post of Mumbai Police Commissioner. Singh claimed, in a detailed letter to the Maharashtra Chief Minister, that Vaze was involved in a scheme to collect ₹100 crore (US$12 million) from businesses in Mumbai per month as demanded by the Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh.[22][23] Deshmukh's office denied the claim and stated that Param Bir Singh made false allegations against him to save himself from legal action.[24][25] Devendra Fadnavis claimed that Vaze and Param Bir Singh were just pawns in the hands of the current Maha Vikas Aghadi (a coalition of NCP, Shiv Sena and Indian National Congress) state government.[26] Param Bir Singh asked the Supreme Court on March 22 for a CBI probe against Deshmukh, claiming interference by him in police investigations.[27]

Mumbai-based newspaper Mid-day has learned from members of Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHAR) that Vaze had started collecting money from December 2020. Vaze would call from his office inside the compound of the Commissioner of Police office to pay monthly amounts and if paid, he would ensure that Social Service Branch would not conduct any raids. It reported a source stating that "SSB carried out raids at hotels and bars and filed cases. The last SSB raid was in early February. After that, no raid was conducted as everybody agreed to pay the money to be able to operate."[28]

Investigation

The Mumbai Police formed over 10 teams to investigate the bomb scare case. Officials from the Mumbai Crime Branch investigated details of the vehicle to identify the owner, and scanned the CCTVs in the area. Anti-Terrorism Squad officials investigated for any terror angle. The person sitting in the Scorpio could not be identified as he was wearing a mask.[29] CCTV footages showed a white coloured Toyota Innova following the Scorpio from Thane till Carmichael Road. Analysis of hundreds of CCTV footages along the route of the two cars showed them driving separately, crossing the Mulund toll post, until they met up at Priyadarshini Junction in Kurla, and then proceeding towards Byculla. The vehicles turned right at Khada Parsi junction and proceeded to Carmichael Road. The driver of the Scorpio parked it at 2.18 am at the spot near Antilia where it was last seen, and left in the Innova. The Innova, which also had a fake registration number,[30] was seen exiting Mumbai and entering Thane, after which its trail was lost.[31][6]

Following a post on Telegram from a terror outfit the Jaish-Ul-Hind claiming responsibility, the police took help of a private agency to track the mobile phone from which the message was sent. When the agency claimed the phone was operated in or close to Tihar Jail, the Delhi Police special cell seized a phone and interrogated a terrorist from the now-dormant Indian Mujahedeen lodged in the jail. The Mumbai Police checked the address of the cryptocurrency Monero, which was provided in the message, and found it did not exist.[12] Later, the Jaish-Ul-Hind denied responsibility for the post, and said it was a fake message.[32]

The gelatin sticks were manufactured by Solar Industries, a Nagpur-based company, however they informed the police that they had no system to find who the buyer was.[11] The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) at Mumbai's Kalina, conducted a forensic analysis and found ammonium nitrate in the sticks, and concluded that the explosive was capable of only a low-intensity blast, and could not cause any big damage.[33]

Handlers of the SUV

Police found that the Scorpio had a number plate of a registration under Reliance Industries. However the actual vehicle with that number belonged to the Jaguar Land Rover model. [34] As the chassis and engine number were scratched, police contacted the finance company Wadhwa Motors Cars & Finance, whose name and number were written on the rear glass of the vehicle. The real registration number was found to be MH02 AY 2815, and registered at Thane RTO in 2007 by Sam Peter Newton. Newton led them to Mansukh Hiren, who identified the vehicle through its seat covers and a Ganesha idol. As per Hiren's statements to the Crime Branch, Newton, whom he knew since 2016, had brought the vehicle to his car decor shop in order to get it fitted with some accessories. When Newton was not able to pay the bill, he allowed Hiren to use the car until the payment was made. Hiren had handed over the vehicle to Sachin Vaze, who was his regular client, who used it for 4 months from November 2020. On February 5, 2021, Vaze returned the vehicle with a complaint of a stiff steering wheel.[14]

The car was in Hiren's possession until February 16, when he parked it on the Mulund-Airoli Link Road after the steering wheel became jammed. When he went to pick it up the next day, the car was missing. He filed a complaint in the Vikhroli Police Station in which he mentioned that the car belonged to his friend Dr. Sam Newton.[7] The Vikhroli police were not able to trace it during the time. Hiren claimed that he had recently used it on only four to five occasions because he wanted to sell it.[6] On investigating the vehicle when it was found near Antilia, there were no marks indicating forced entry of doors, and the police suspected that the vehicle may have been stolen using a duplicate key.[35]

The ATS revealed based on CCTV footage from near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station, that after parking the car, Hiren met Vaze for 10 minutes. The NIA revealed that the car was later picked up on Vaze's instruction by his personal driver from where Hiren had parked it. The driver then parked it in Vaze's residence in Thane. On February 19, the driver drove the vehicle to the police headquarters, and brought it back to Vaze's residence the following day, where it remained until February 24, when the driver made the journey to Antilia.[36]

Following Vaze's arrest, the NIA searched his office and seized documents, electronic devices, and a Mercedes vehicle that was being used by Vaze, which contained ₹5 lakh cash, a cash-counting machine and the original license plates of the Scorpio found earlier near Antilia. Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police Sunil Toke claimed that Vaze drove the seized Mercedes car into the Commissionerate of Police.[37] An Assistant Police Inspector Riyazuddin Kazi was investigated who had removed a Digital Video Recorder (DVR) of CCTVs from the housing society where Vaze lived in Thane.[38]As part of reconstructing the sequence of events, Vaze was made to walk near the spot where the SUV was found.[2]

Mansukh Hiren death

After the investigation into the death was transferred to the ATS, they collected all documents from Mumbra Police Station. On March 7, ATS registered a case of murder[39] on the complaint of Hiren's wife.[40]

Two mobile phones of Hiren were switched on and off 30 minutes and 10km apart. One was at Vasai-Virar, and the other at Tungareshwar. The police suspected that the killers may have done this to create false location indicators for Hiren. The phones were switched off since 10.30pm.[39]

In a March 21 statement, the Maharashtra Anti-terrorism squad named Vaze as the prime suspect in Mansukh Hiren’s death.[20][21] Police officer Vinayak Balasaheb Shinde, who worked with Vaze, had allegedly asked Hiren to meet him at Ghodbunder Road.

Arrests

On March 13, after over 12 hours of questioning, Vaze was arrested by the National Investigation Agency for his involvement in placing the explosives-laden vehicle near Antilia.[20]

On March 21, the ATS arrested cricket bookie Naresh Ramniklal Gor and police officer Vinayak Balasaheb Shinde, who worked with Vaze, for their involvement in Mansukh Hiren's murder.[41] [42] As per the ATS, Shinde had posed as Tawde and called Hiren to meet him at Ghodbunder Road on the day Hiren went missing. Another ATS team apprehended a man from Gujarat who supplied SIM cards obtained on the basis of bogus documents to Gor, who in turn provided five SIM cards to Vaze and Shinde.[43]

On April 11, NIA arrested Riyazuddin Kazi, who assisted Vaze in the Antilia bomb case as well as destruction of evidence in the Hiren murder case.[44]

References

  1. ^ Singh, Divyesh (March 9, 2021). "Mukesh Ambani bomb threat: CCTV captures suspect parking explosive-laden SUV, man wore PPE kit". India Today. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  2. ^ a b Sunil Kumar Singh, Debanish Achom (March 20, 2021). "Arrested Cop Made To Walk Near Antilia In Scene Reconstruction: Sources". NDTV.
  3. ^ Just a trailer, says letter found in car near Mukesh Ambani's residence, Vijay Kumar Yadav, Hindustan Times, FEB 27, 2021
  4. ^ "Gelatin sticks in SUV capable of low-intensity blast, chances of big damage dim: FSL". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  5. ^ PTI (February 26, 2021). "SUV with gelatin sticks found near Ambani's house was stolen". The Hindu.
  6. ^ a b c d Divyesh Singh, Mustafa Shaikh (February 27, 2021). "Mukesh Ambani's family threatened: Exclusive details of police probe What has happened so far". India Today.
  7. ^ a b Sagar Rajput (March 12, 2021). "Another twist to Antilia car case: Scorpio belonged to Thane resident, not Hiren". Indian Express.
  8. ^ Divyesh Singh, Sahil Joshi (February 25, 2021). "SUV with explosive material, letter caught near Mukesh Ambani's house Antilia in Mumbai". India Today.|
  9. ^ Divyesh Singh (March 15, 2021). "Arrested in Ambani bomb scare case, Mumbai cop Sachin Vaze suspended". India Today.
  10. ^ Divyesh Singh, Sahil Joshi (February 25, 2021). "Explosives outside Antilia Number plates found inside SUV match with Ambani's security vehicles: Police". India Today.
  11. ^ a b Kiran Tare (March 1, 2021). "Why Mukesh Ambani may be on the terror hit list". India Today.
  12. ^ a b Saurabh Vaktania (March 2, 2021). "No record of Jaish ul Hind, cryptocurrency address doesn't exist, says Mumbai Police". India Today.
  13. ^ a b Divyesh Singh (March 11, 2021). "Exact location of Mansukh Hiren's death remains a mystery The investigation so far". India Today.
  14. ^ a b c Kamlesh Damodar Sutar (March 9, 2021). "Police officer Sachin Vaze killed my husband, Mansukh Hiren's wife claims in FIR". India Today.
  15. ^ a b c Sagar Rajput, Mohamed Thaver (March 6, 2021). "Ambani security scare: Owner of stolen vehicle found dead in Mumbai". Indian Express.
  16. ^ Mustafa Shaikh (April 2, 2021). "Sachin Vaze thought Mansukh Hiren was weak link, hence killed him: NIA sources". India Today.
  17. ^ PTI (18 Mar 2021). "Hiren's diatom test report suggests he was alive when he fell in water: Official". Deccan Herald.
  18. ^ "Two days after vehicle owner found dead, ATS files case of murder, criminal conspiracy". Express News Service. March 8, 2021.
  19. ^ PTI (March 12, 2021). "Mumbai Cop Shifted Amid Political Row Over Businessman's Suspicious Death". NDTV.
  20. ^ a b c "Ambani security scare: NIA arrests Mumbai cop Sachin Vaze". The Indian Express. Mumbai. 14 March 2021.
  21. ^ a b "Full-blown political slugfest over Sachin Vaze in Maharashtra". Tribune News Service. 16 March 2021.
  22. ^ Full text of ex-Mumbai top cop Param Bir Singh's sensational letter to CM Uddhav Thackeray, India Today, March 20, 2021
  23. ^ Anil Deshmukh: The rise and fall of Maharashtra’s unique statesman, Zeeshan Shaikh, Indian Express, March 21, 2021
  24. ^ Param Bir Singh alleges Deshmukh asked Vaze to extort ₹100 cr; minister denies, Amit Chaturvedi, Hindustan Times, March 20, 2021
  25. ^ क्या मनसुख हिरेन केस NIA के पास जाने से महाराष्ट्र की राजनीति में मची हलचल?, Shivangi Thakur, TV9,21 March 21
  26. ^ Fadnavis: Mansukh Hiren was murdered, top cops buried evidence, Mumbai Mirror, Mar 18, 2021
  27. ^ [Ex-Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh moves SC for CBI probe against Deshmukh, Utkarsh Anand, Hindustan Times, March 22, 2021]
  28. ^ Mumbai: Hoteliers recount horror tales after ex-top cop Param Bir Singh’s allegations against Anil Deshmukh, Diwakar Sharma, Mid-Day, 22 March,2021
  29. ^ Saurabh Vaktania (February 26, 2021). "Explosives outside Mukesh Ambani's house: Threat letter found in SUV says 'yeh trailer hai'". India Today.
  30. ^ Ahmed Ali, Mateen Hafeez (Feb 27, 2021). "SUV owner traced, police don't rule out terror angle". indiatimes.
  31. ^ "Innova car, seen along with SUV carrying explosives parked outside Antilia, spotted in CCTV footage". India TV News Desk. February 28, 2021.
  32. ^ Santia Gora (Mar 17, 2021). "NIA suspects report by private agency tracing Jaish-Ul-Hind's telegram message to Tihar is manipulated". timesnownews.com.
  33. ^ India Today Web Desk (March 20, 2021). "SUV found near Ambani house had low-grade explosives, not enough to cause big damage: FSL team". India Today.
  34. ^ "SUV With 'Explosives' Found Near Ambani's Home Has Fake Number Plate, Registered Under Reliance's Name". ABP News Bureau. 26 February 2021.
  35. ^ PTI (March 12, 2021). "No marks of forcible entry seen on SUV found near Ambani's house: police".
  36. ^ Saurabh Vaktania (March 19, 2021). "Sachin Vaze met Mansukh Hiren days before explosives were found near Ambani's house, Mumbai ATS recovers video". India Today.
  37. ^ मोठा खुलासा! स्कॉर्पिओ चोरी झालीच नव्हती, वाझेंकडेच होती; सीसीटीव्ही फुटेजमधून ‘कार’नामे उघड?, टीव्ही 9 मराठी 16 Mar 2021
  38. ^ Manish Pathak, Anamika Gharat (March 17, 2021). "After raid at Vaze's office, NIA says he hid evidence". Hindustan Times.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  39. ^ a b Mohamed Thaver (March 9, 2021). "'Killers hoped body would not be found soon, tried to throw cops offtrack'".
  40. ^ Mateen Hafeez (Mar 7, 2021). "Maharashtra ATS to file murder case against unidentified persons".
  41. ^ Vijay Kumar Yadav and Anamika Gharat (March 22, 2021). "Mansukh Hiran murder mystery solved, Sachin Vaze the prime accused, says Maharashtra ATS". Hindustan Times.
  42. ^ "CCTV footage shows Sachin Vaze driving with accused Shinde in an Audi". deccan herald. April 2, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  43. ^ Manish K Pathak and Faisal Tandel (March 23, 2021). "Convicted cop Vinayak Shinde executed Hiran Mansukh's murder". Hindustan Times.
  44. ^ Neeraj Chauhan (April 13, 2021). "NIA on lookout for 2 men hired by Vaze as part of Hiran murder plot: Officials". Hindustan Times.
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