Mechanic who found stones in Anil Ambani's chopper dead
Bharat Borge was a mechanic with Air Works & was questioned by police on Monday. Police is not ruling out the possibility of suicide. India's biggest wealth creators
By ET Bureau & Agencies |
MUMBAI: In a mysterious turn in the case of alleged sabotage of industrialist Anil Ambani's helicopter, the man who spotted pebbles in its fuel tank was found dead today on the railway track near Vile Parle here.
"Bharat Borge's body was found by police. A letter was found on his person," Government Railway Police Commissioner A K Sharma told reporters. He, however, refused to divulge the contents of the letter.
Borge was among the first persons to have spotted the fuel cap of Ambani's helicopter open on Thursday last and on inspection found pebbles and gravel inside.
There were no comments from Anil Ambani Group which had alleged that business rivals may be behind an "attempt to murder" the industrialist by trying to sabotage his helicopter.
Confirming the death of Borge, his employer Airworks India, the company, which had the contract for the maintenance of Ambani's helicopter, said in a statement that his demise was "unfortunate and tragic".
Borge's body was found dead on the railway track this evening between Vile Parle and Andheri suburban stations. He is suspected to have been run over by a Churchgate-bound fast local train near Vile Parle. His body has been sent for post-mortem.
Police were non-committal as to whether it could be a case of suicide, murder or accident.
The Mumbai Police, which is probing the sabotage case, has sought the opinion of Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and aviation experts to determine the consequences if the helicopter had taken off.
"Preliminary investigations have suggested that if the helicopter had taken off, the pebbles would have damaged one of the two engines. This would have eventually forced the pilot to opt for an emergency landing,'' said a police officer.
Earlier, sources said the helicopter was on the tarmac which was not covered by CCTV cameras. "In the hangar, three choppers and four fixed wing aircraft can be kept and any maintenance work carried out is caught on the CCTV,'' the source pointed out.
Last Friday, Ambani was to take the helicopter to go to knowledge city along with nine officers of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group.
On April 22, the helicopter had flown for two hours and returned to the hangar near old airport at Kalina. "We suspect somebody must have put the pebbles later,'' the officer added.
Anil Ambani usually uses this Bell-412 helicopter to fly to knowledge centre in neighbouring Navi Mumbai every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from Mahalaxmi helipad.
"Bharat Borge's body was found by police. A letter was found on his person," Government Railway Police Commissioner A K Sharma told reporters. He, however, refused to divulge the contents of the letter.
Borge was among the first persons to have spotted the fuel cap of Ambani's helicopter open on Thursday last and on inspection found pebbles and gravel inside.
There were no comments from Anil Ambani Group which had alleged that business rivals may be behind an "attempt to murder" the industrialist by trying to sabotage his helicopter.
Confirming the death of Borge, his employer Airworks India, the company, which had the contract for the maintenance of Ambani's helicopter, said in a statement that his demise was "unfortunate and tragic".
Borge's body was found dead on the railway track this evening between Vile Parle and Andheri suburban stations. He is suspected to have been run over by a Churchgate-bound fast local train near Vile Parle. His body has been sent for post-mortem.
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Police were non-committal as to whether it could be a case of suicide, murder or accident.
The Mumbai Police, which is probing the sabotage case, has sought the opinion of Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and aviation experts to determine the consequences if the helicopter had taken off.
"Preliminary investigations have suggested that if the helicopter had taken off, the pebbles would have damaged one of the two engines. This would have eventually forced the pilot to opt for an emergency landing,'' said a police officer.
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Earlier, sources said the helicopter was on the tarmac which was not covered by CCTV cameras. "In the hangar, three choppers and four fixed wing aircraft can be kept and any maintenance work carried out is caught on the CCTV,'' the source pointed out.
Last Friday, Ambani was to take the helicopter to go to knowledge city along with nine officers of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group.
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On April 22, the helicopter had flown for two hours and returned to the hangar near old airport at Kalina. "We suspect somebody must have put the pebbles later,'' the officer added.
Anil Ambani usually uses this Bell-412 helicopter to fly to knowledge centre in neighbouring Navi Mumbai every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from Mahalaxmi helipad.
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