Mukesh Ambani, family threatened in letter found in suspicious SUV outside Antilia

Mumbai: The Mumbai Police early on Friday registered an FIR and launched a massive manhunt to track the two persons who abandoned an SUV with 20 gelatin sticks near the landmark Antilia building, the home of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani.

A letter reportedly was also seized from the vehicle. It was a purported threat note in Hindi but typed in broken and erroneous English, addressed to “Nita Bhabhi aur Mukesh bhyya aur femili”, has ominously warned that arrangements to ‘blow up’ the entire Ambani are complete.

It further cautioned the Ambanis that the next time, “the stuff would come connected, in an original vehicle,” so they should beware, and signed off with a “Gud nit”.

However, Mumbai Police Spokesperson Deputy Commissioner of Police S. Chaitanya refused to confirm or deny the threat note, saying “it’s part of the investigations”.

The development came after the discovery of SUV was found parked near a tree close to the Antilia building, the lavish multi-storied house of the Ambani family in south Mumbai on Thursday, rattling the country’s political, corporate and security establishments.

The vehicle was discovered only at around 2 p.m. on Thursday by some alert persons in the vicinity, nearly 12 hours after it remained unattended, sparking off suspicions and triggering a chain of reactions.

The mystery vehicle, which has been seized by the police – bears a registration number similar to a vehicle that is part of the Ambani family’s security detail and a letter was found from it, the contents of which are not yet known.

Mumbai Police Spokesperson, DCP S. Chaitanya said late on Thursday that the gelatin sticks recovered were “not an assembled explosive device” but the exact detail of the risk they posed would be known after a thorough probe.

Efforts are on to trace the two persons who parked the SUV there, from where they came, what were their motives, or who or what were their intended targets, etc, officials said.

State Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, home and intelligence department top officers are monitoring the probe.

The FIR was registered at the Gamdevi Police Station invoking Indian Penal Code Sec. 286, 465, 473, 120(b), 506(2) pertaining to explosives, forgery, criminal conspiracy and criminal intimidation, and Sec. 4 of Explosives Substance Act for an attempt to cause an explosion, or for making or keeping it with intent to endanger life or property.

The Antilia building and the south Mumbai neighbourhood houses the who’s who of the Indian corporate world, top politicians, official or private residences of various bigwigs, government officials, diplomats, people from the glamour industry and others.

(IANS)