Having established that SUV that lay abandoned near Industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s skyscraper mansion “Antilia” in south Mumbai on Thursday evening was a stolen car and the gelatin sticks found in it were manufactured in a Nagpur facility, the crime branch sleuths of the Mumbai police on Friday launched a manhunt for two unidentified culprits behind the sensational plot.
A day after the 20 gelatin sticks and a letter were recovered from a Scorpio that was found abandoned in the vicinity of Mukesh Ambani’s 27-storey residence “Antilia” on Carmichael Road in south Mumbai, the Gamdevi police registered an FIR in the case, while the Mumbai Crime Branch sleuths landed “strong leads” in their investigations in the case.The two early leads that the investigations found in the case were: the SUV – a Scorpio - used in the crime had been stolen from Vikroli in north-east Mumbai and e the gelatin sticks found in the car were manufactured at Nagpur-based firm M/s Solar Explosives Ltd.
Informed sources in the Mumbai police said that the Scorpio used in the crime had been stolen from a service road near the Vikhroli Airoli junction. The owner of the car has told the police that his car broke down near Vikhroli Airoli junction while he was on his way from Thane to Mumbai. The owner parked the car on the wayside of the road. On the following afternoon, when he returned to take the car for repairs, he found the vehicle was missing. He lodged a complaint with the Vikhroli police.
After the theft of the SUV, the miscreants damaged the chassis plate and tried to make the number illegible. However, the police retrieved the chassis number and identified the owner.
In one of the multiple CCTV footages from the area around the crime spot showed the suspect who parked the car at the site, but he has not been identified as yet as he sported a mask on his face and had covered his head with a hoodie that he wore.
The seized car has meanwhile been sent for a forensic analysis
The purported threat letter -- written in broken English and Hindi – that was recovered from the seized SUV was addressed to “Nita Bhabhi aur Mukesh bhyya aur femili”. The culprits said that what they were witnessing was a mere “trailer”. ‘“Be alert. We have made all arrangements to blow up the entire Ambani family”, the letter read.
“An FIR has been registered and investigations were in progress,” deputy commissioner of police (operations) and Mumbai Police spokesperson S Chaitanya said.Chaitanya, however, declined to comment on the contents of the letter, saying: he said: “I cannot comment on the letter. It is part of the investigations. We have got some leads, we are working on it”.
Having confirmed that the gelatine sticks found in the car were manufactured at a Nagpur-based firm, the investigators have sought the details of sale of the seized gelatin sticks “Since only packets and not the individual sticks are bar-coded, it will take us time to confirm who bought it or whether these were also stolen,” a senior police officer said.,
