Mansukh Hiran death: ATS recreates crime scene at Thane creek

The team also called ambulance drivers who took Mansukh’s body from the creek to the hospital and saw a five-layer mask on his face.

The Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS), which is probing the death of Thane trader Mansukh Hiran, 48, who was allegedly the owner of the car left near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s with loose explosives and was found dead in a creek on March 5, recreated the purported crime scene using a dummy of the same height and weight early Thursday morning. The team also quizzed Hiran’s elder brother Vinod for two hours on Friday. Later, Vinod and Hiran’s son Meet were taken to the ATS office in Wagle Estate in Thane where they were questioned from afternoon till the time of going to print.

(Praful Gangurde)

The team also called ambulance drivers who took Mansukh’s body from the creek to the hospital and saw a five-layer mask on his face. The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is conducting a parallel probe into the death, also visited the crime scene on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Sachin Vaze, the police officer who was transferred out of the crime branch over his alleged link to the Hiran death case based on Hiran’s wife Vimla’s statement, will join the Citizen Facilitation Centre (CFC) of Mumbai Police on the ground floor of the Mumbai Police headquarters. The unit handles citizens’ grievances, licences issued by Mumbai Police and other public-related services.

Elaborating on the probe, a senior IPS officer said the team of around eight to 10 ATS officials that visited Reti Bunder first consulted with the locals on low and high tides. The team was also said to be accompanied by an officer from the India Meteorological Department to examine the weather conditions and flow of the creek on March 4 and 5.

ATS officials feel Hiran’s body was hurled into the creek during low tide, said the officer.

During the recreation, the dummy got stuck in the mud, the officer said, adding the ATS team had hired a fisherman’s boat and took the dummy around 30m inside the creek from where they again threw the dummy to see the direction from which the body could have come.

After analysing the crime scene and speaking with fishermen, ATS officials feel the culprits might have killed Hiran somewhere else and dumped the body here. His last mobile location was Vasai and Virar, said the officer.

Sajjad Nakkad, a Mumbra resident, who has been working for the ambulance service for two years, said, “I went to the ATS office with my employer, Abdulla. I was part of the team that got out Hiran’s body. We were shocked to see the five-layer mask on his face. Later, we took the body to Kalwa civic hospital. We are cooperating with the police.”

A fisherman from the area said, “We often help the disaster management team to search bodies. I was there during the rescue of Hiran’s body. There were no injuries. We have told the police everything we know.”

ATS officials are collecting from Hiran’s building and other structures in the vicinity the CCTV footage for a month, added the officer.

The process of Vaze’s transfer started after leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis raised the issue in the state Assembly. He alleged that Vaze had used the same Scorpio found near Ambani’s house months before the incident, and sought Vaze’s arrest. Home minister Anil Deshmukh then announced the officer’s transfer in the legislative council on Wednesday.

A day after the Scorpio was found parked on Carmichael Road, Deshmukh released a video statement stating that the Mumbai crime branch would investigate the case. Vaze, who was heading the crime intelligence unit, had taken the lead in the investigation. The Scorpio was traced to Hiran and he was called in for questioning by several agencies. He said he had registered a complaint that the SUV was stolen between the night of February 17 and February 18. He was found dead on March 5.