The owner of an explosives-filled car found near Reliance Industries chairperson Mukesh Ambani’s residence in Mumbai last week was found dead on Friday, ANI reported.
The Thane police said that Mansukh Hiren died by suicide. His body was recovered from a creek near Mumbai, according to PTI. Hiren’s family had approached the police in the afternoon, saying that he had gone missing.
Twenty gelatin sticks were recovered from the black Scorpio found less than two kilometres away from Ambani’s multi-storey home Antilia on February 25, NDTV reported. Unidentified police officers had said that the gelatin recovered from the car was the commercial type, which is used in mining and construction.
The police then located Hiren, who was the SUV’s registered owner. He told the police that his car broke down on February 16, after which he parked it on the Mulund-Airoli Link Road, India Today reported. He alleged that the vehicle was stolen from there.
The police told the news channel that Hiren had also filed a complaint about the stolen car at Vikhroli. His statement had also been recorded in connection with the bomb scare.
Devendra Fadnavis, the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly, said that the death of a prime witness in the case was suspicious. “I asked in [the] House for protection to Mansukh Hiren, as he’s the main link in the case and might be in danger,” Fadnavis said, according to PTI. “Now we get to know of his body being found. It makes the case fishy. Looking at this and alleged terror angle, we demand that case be handed over to National Investigation Agency.”
However, earlier this week, the police had dismissed any link between the incident and a group named Jaish-ul-Hind, NDTV reported.
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