Mumbai police find evidence of second car used in bomb scare outside Ambani home

Critical CCTV footage of a white Innova driven by an unidentified man, linking him and the vehicle to the bomb scare near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s upscale home in Mumbai, has been obtained. This information, which was shared by Mumbai Police’s Crime Branch on Saturday morning, shows that two cars were used in the operation.

This new footage is crucial to the investigations into the seizure of an abandoned green coloured Mahindra Scorpio filled with 20 gelatin sticks and several detonators, parked 1.4 km away from Mumbai’s famous towering building on Altamount Road, Antilia.

The police have confirmed that a CCTV feed has revealed a man in the driver’s seat of a white Innova leaning out to pay the toll at the Thane-Mulund tollgate at 3am on February 25, the day the Scorpio packed with explosives was parked near Antilia. The driver, who has not yet been identified then drove off in the direction of Thane, reported NDTV.

Also read: FIR filed after vehicle with explosives found near Mukesh Ambani’s house

Police have surmised from the CCTV footage that two cars were deployed to drive to the Ambani residence on that day. The driver of the Mahindra Scorpio, wearing a mask and a hoodie, parked the car at the spot where it was found and got into the Innova car. This masked man too has not been identified so far by the police.

However, the owner of the SUV, which had been recently stolen from Vikroli area, has been identified. The SUV had a wrong number plate, and the plate was initially thought to match a vehicle that is part of Ambani’s security team. However, that theory was abandoned as it was determined to be a fake.

A letter written in the English script but in Hindi language, found in the car, threatened the industrialist, the world’s fourth richest man and his wife Neeta Ambani saying that this was just a “trailer” and warned that they would return more prepared to assassinate the entire family.

The 27-storey Antilia, named after a mythical island, is the private residence of India’s most famous billionaire and his family. The architectural design of Antilia has been fashioned along the lines of the lotus and the sun, and the family occupies only the top six floors of the building. It is believed to be the world’s most valuable private residence. It has three helipads, a 168-car garage, a ballroom, high speed elevators, a theatre, swimming pool, and a snow room.

Also read: Mukesh Ambani is now world’s fourth richest man, worth $80.6 billion

The Mumbai police, who are now posted outside Antilla, had said on Thursday, that police personnel have been deployed across the city and are conducting searches. According to the police the gelatin that was found in the SUV was not of “military grade” but commercial kind used usually in construction, digging or mining.

Meanwhile, Reliance Industries have issued a statement thanking the Mumbai police for their quick and immediate action. And, that they are confident that Mumbai police will complete their thorough investigation quickly.

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had also tweeted about the twenty gelatin explosives sticks found in a Scorpio van in the vicinity of industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence in Mumbai. He added that Mumbai Crime Branch police is investigating the case  and the findings will be out soon.