The NIA has taken over the case of a vehicle laden with explosives being found near industrialist Mukesh Ambani's residence in Mumbai, officials said on Monday. Commenting on the move, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said it showed something was fishy .
A spokesperson of the National Investigation Agency said in a brief statement that the anti-terror agency had taken over the probe following orders from the Union Home Ministry and was in the process of re-registering the case being investigated by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad and Crime Branch. Besides the recovery of the vehicle, the Central anti-terror agency will also probe the mysterious death of Mansukh Hiren, the owner of the stolen vehicle.
A Scorpio, with 20 gelatin sticks inside, was found near Antilia, Ambani's high-rise residence in south Mumbai, on February 25. Police said the vehicle was stolen from Airoli-Mulund Bridge on February 18.
The mystery deepened after Hiren's body was found in Thane district neighbouring Mumbai.
"We had handed over the case of the vehicle laden with explosives and the mysterious death of Mansukh Hiren to the ATS. The NIA taking over the case shows something was fishy," Thackeray said as news came in about the NIA taking over the case.
Governments come and go, but the official administrative machinery remains the same and one needs to trust it, the chief minister told reporters in Mumbai.
The ATS, he said, will continue to conduct its probe into Hiren's death.
Hiren had written a letter to Thackeray and said the interrogation by various agencies had disturbed his peace of mind. Despite "being a victim, I am treated as an accused. I have also been receiving calls from media houses who have been harassing me and my family", he said.
The letter dated March 2, purportedly written by Hiren and also addressed to Home Minister Anil Deshmukh as well as the police commissioners of Thane and Mumbai, surfaced on Saturday. He alleged that he was being harassed despite not having any knowledge about the culprits, who not only "stole his vehicle but also misused it".
The Maharashtra ATS had registered the FIR against unidentified persons on the order of the state home department under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) and 120(b) (criminal conspiracy).
The case was also discussed at the ongoing session of the Maharashtra Assembly where Deshmukh said the state police was capable of solving Hiren's death and the recovery of a car with explosives near the Reliance Industries CMD's residence. Making a statement in the Assembly, Deshmukh said the ATS registered a case against unidentified persons after Hiren's wife expressed suspicion that her husband may have been murdered,
The recovery of the explosive laden vehicle was being probed by the Crime Intelligence Unit of the Crime Branch.