Mansukh Hiren death: Maha ATS registers murder case against unidentified persons
Two days after the body of MansukhHiren, the purported owner of the car with explosives foundoutside industrialist Mukesh Ambanis residence here lastmonth, was found in a creek, the Maharashtra ATS on Sundayregistered a case of murder against unidentified persons, anofficial said.
The formal orders to hand over the probe into thedeath of Hiren (46) to the ATS were issued on Saturday latenight.
The Anti-terrorism Squad (ATS) registered the FIRagainst unidentified persons on the order of the state homedepartment under various sections of the Indian Penal Code(IPC), including murder, disappearance of evidence, and acriminal conspiracy, the official said.
Accordingly, all the documents related to the casewere handed over to the ATS by Mumbra police in Thanedistrict.
Earlier, family members of the deceased had demandedregistration of a murder case and refused to take possessionof his body.
However, they finally agreed to claim the body onSaturday on the intervention of senior police officers inThane.
Vimla Hiren, wife of the deceased, had filed acomplaint with the police.
The body of Hiren was fished out from a creek inneighbouring Thane district on the morning of March 5, hoursafter he went “missing”.
Hiren, an automobile accessories dealer from Thane,had purportedly written a letter on March 2 to MaharashtraChief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, state Home Minister AnilDeshmukh and police commissioners of Thane and Mumbai,alleging that he was being harassed by the police and mediasince the vehicle was found outside Ambanis house.
He had also claimed that despite being a victim, hewas treated like an accused.
The car, a Scorpio, with 20 gelatin sticks inside wasfound near Antilia, the multi-storey residence of MukeshAmbani in south Mumbai, on February 25.
Police had said the vehicle was stolen from Airoli-Mulund Bridge on February 18.
The ATS had already taken over the probe into thesecurity scare outside Ambanis residence.
In the letter, Hiren claimed that he was beingharassed despite not having any knowledge about the culprits,who not only “stole his vehicle but also misused it”.
A Thane Police official had said that Hiren had lefthis shop around 8.30 pm on March 4 in an autorickshaw andsince then his phone was switched off.
“His family members had lodged a missing personsreport on Friday morning after he did not return home and acase was registered at Naupada police station. By that time, abody was found at Mumbra and it was later confirmed that thedeceased was Mansukh,” he had said, adding that Hirens mobilephone is yet to be recovered.
Officials on Saturday said the autopsy report of Hirenreserved the opinion on the cause of his death and added thatno visible external injuries were found on his body.
The viscera of Hiren was already sent for forensicanalysis, they said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Federal staff and is auto-published from a syndicated feed.)
