The TLDR: In late February, an SUV with gelatin sticks was found parked 400 metres from Antilia—Mukesh Ambani’s mega-mansion in Mumbai. On Friday, the businessman who owned (maybe) the SUV was found dead in a creek—a death that has now been deemed a murder. With allegations and counter-allegations being traded, the case has now become a mystery worthy of Sherlock Holmes—or Feluda, if we prefer ‘made in India’ analogies.

The mysterious car

• On February 25, the Mumbai police discovered a Scorpio abandoned right next to Antilia. 
• It contained twenty gelatin sticks—which are used as explosives in construction and mine quarries—but they had not been assembled into a bomb. 
• Also found: a threatening letter in Hindi but written in English script addressed to Mukesh and Nita Ambani. The police have not released details on what it said.
• The license plate was fake and someone had unsuccessfully tried to scratch out the engine chassis number.

The owner? The police used the chassis number to track down its registered owner: Mansukh Hiran, a 48-year old businessman. Hiran claimed that he had not used the Scorpio for over a year—but had recently driven it as he wanted to sell the car. But it stalled out on February 16 and he left it parked on the side of the road. When he returned the next day, it had disappeared. 

The cab ride: On February 17—when Hiran discovered that the car was missing—he hired an Ola, and asked the driver to take him to the Crawford Market police station. But then he changed his mind and went to a different location. He finally filed a complaint about the missing car at the Vikhroli police station on February 18. The police are now focused on the Ola driver and his testimony about a call made by Hiran while he was in the cab. 

A big red herring: Soon after the car was discovered, Telegram messages allegedly posted by a little known terrorist outfit called Jaish-ul-Hind claimed responsibility for the incident: "The brother who placed the SUV near the Ambani house has reached the safe house. This was just a trailer and big picture is yet to come (sic).” But soon after, the ‘real’ Jaish-ul-Hind (we think) spoke up to claim innocence:

 “We condemn Indian Intelligence agencies for morphing and making fake poster on behest of Jaish ul Hind… Jaish ul Hind will never [takes] ransom from kuffars [infidels] and has no fight with Indian business tycoons.”

Potential red herring: Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh added to the confusion by claiming: "Mansukh Hiran was not the owner [of the Scorpio], owner was Sam Peter Newton. He was only in possession of the car." According to Deshmukh, Newton had given the Scorpio to Hiran’s car decor company to fix its interiors. “The car owner could not pay the dues so Hiran took the car.” Some opposition politicians have alleged that Newton “regularly helped cops and even arranged refreshments.” (More on the Mumbai cop conspiracy theory later)

Point to note: The Ambanis are one of the most protected families in the country: 

• Unlike the Gandhis, the government affords them the highest level of Z-plus security—which entails round-the-clock protection by 58 CRPF commandos armed to their teeth with specialised automatic weapons. 
• These include armed guards, close proximity guards, drivers, personal security officers and a frisk team. 
• Ambani also has a personal security posse of 15-20 unarmed guards trained by an Israeli security firm. 
• Antilia is like a fortress—with full high-resolution CCTV coverage,  armed guards at the gate, within the building, and in vehicles parked outside. 
• The Ambanis move around in a bulletproof convoy of six to eight vehicles to accommodate their many bodyguards.

In other words, they’re not the easiest or most obvious target for a terrorist or criminal attack. 

The mysterious murder

The letter: Before his death, Hiran wrote a letter addressed to the Chief Minister, Home Minister and senior police officials. In it, he details being repeatedly interrogated by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (under the Maharashtra state) and National Investigation Agency (under the union government). He wrote:

“These interrogations from various agencies had disturbed my peace of mind and in spite of being a victim, I am being treated as an accused. I have also been receiving phone calls from various reporters of newspapers and TV channels who are also harassing me and my family unnecessarily.”

See the letter in its entirety here.

The phone call: Hiran was last seen on Thursday. His family says that he received a call around 8 pm from a person who identified himself as Tawde—and claimed to be a Crime Branch investigator in the case. Hiran took an autorickshaw to go meet him. His phone was then switched off around 10:30 pm and his family filed a missing person’s report on Friday. 

A suicide? Hiran’s body was discovered in a creek in Thane on Friday evening. The police first registered a case of accidental death, claiming that he might have died by suicide. His family registered a strong protest, refusing to take possession of the body until murder charges were filed. 

Nope, a murder: On Saturday, the case was transferred from the Mumbai police to the Anti Terrorism Squad. And on Sunday, the ATS formally registered a case of murder. The new theory of the crime is as follows:

“Insiders said the investigations suggested that the killers took Hiran’s mobile phone to Vasai—where the police found his last mobile location—and kept it on till 11:30pm to throw investigators off track. They also said Hiran was probably killed before he was thrown into the creek.”

While the autopsy report has not yet declared a cause of death—“reserving its opinion” until further investigation—the ATS squad is looking at a more obvious sign of foul play: “The body was found with a cloth mask around his mouth, and the mouth was stuffed with pieces of cloth.”

The mysterious conspiracy theory

As with any investigation in Mumbai these days, this one too has become a political slugfest. At the centre of it is a shady policeman named Sachin Vaze.

Who is Vaze? Here’s what we know courtesy Quint:

“Vaze has been an ‘encounter specialist’ and was suspended 12 years ago in the Khwaja Younis death case. He had joined the Shiv Sena after the suspension. Vaze was reinstated in the Mumbai Crime Branch Unit after Uddhav Thackeray's Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government came into power. Since then, Vaze has been investigating high profile cases such as the Anvay Naik suicide case involving Arnab Goswami, the TRP scam, and the famous car designer Dilip Chhabria fraud case.”

The Fadnavis theory: Former CM and BJP opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis made a series of explosive allegations in the Assembly—pointing to Vaze’s involvement in the Ambani case:

One: “There were not one but two cars. One was Scorpio and one Innova. Both the cars came from Thane and have followed the same route and reached the location.” This bit has been confirmed by the Mumbai police.

Two: “The person who had lodged a missing complaint of the car [i.e. Hiran] that was found has made some phone calls, some calls were made to a number that is registered in the name of a person called Sachin Hindurao Vaze.” Apparently, these calls date back to June/July 2020. Vaze’s response: "I know Mansukh Hiran as he is also from Thane. I did not meet him recently."

Three: “Sachin Vaze was the first police officer to reach the spot [when the car was found] and then he was appointed as the Investigation Officer (IO). Three days ago, he was removed as the IO and I fail to understand why he was removed.” This has been denied by the Mumbai police and Vaze himself, but Hiran in his letter mentions being interrogated by Vaze. 

Four: After Hiran discovered his car was missing, he went to meet Vaze—who says: “I did not meet Mansukh Hiran when his car was stolen. The allegations that he came to Crawford Market and met me are false.”

Five: Last but not least, Fadnavis claims that Vaze is the author of the threatening letter found in the SUV.

Point to note: Hiran’s mobile phone is still missing, and there is no new lead on the other car—despite CCTV footage—for now.

The bottomline: This is truly an ‘only in India’ murder mystery. Will we ever know who killed Mansukh Hiran? For the sake of his family, we certainly hope so. 

Reading list

Times of India and Indian Express have the latest on the murder case registered by the ATS. India Today has the details on the investigation and an exclusive interview with Vaze. Free Press Journal has the letter written by Hiran. Deccan Herald has an overview of the dubious past of Sachin Vaze—“an old friend of controversies.”