11-min call led ATS to accused in Hiran case

The ATS scanned calls made by 9,000 mobile phone users on the evening of March 4 in the vicinity of where Hiran lived, which led them to the two arrests, the official added.

An 11-minute WhatsApp call made to murdered Thane businessman Mansukh Hiran’s phone, on the evening he went missing, led authorities to a bar dancer, who helped investigators arrest a bookie on suspicion of the murder, said a senior Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) officer on condition of anonymity.

On March 5, the body of Mansukh Hiren, the Scorpio owner, was recovered from Kalwa Creek, hours after his family reported him missing. (Praful Gangurde/HT Photo)

The ATS scanned calls made by 9,000 mobile phone users on the evening of March 4 in the vicinity of where Hiran lived, which led them to the two arrests, the official added.

Hiran, a 48-year-old auto parts businessman was linked to a Mahindra Scorpio that was loaded with explosives and found parked outside industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence in February. Hiran went missing on March 4 and his body washed up ashore the Reti Bunder creek on March 5.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested suspended Mumbai policeman Sachin Vaze in connection with the explosives case on March 13. Last month, the federal agency also took over the probe into the murder case, in which the ATS had arrested two people. The NIA now has custody of all three men.

After scanning the WhatsApp calls on March 4, ATS zeroed in on a particular number which matched the location of Hiran’s house and the approximate time he had left his home on of March 4. The ATS official said that the team reached out to mobile service providers to procure the numbers which were in use at the time. From this, they uncovered the number which was used to call Hiran on his phone.

Hiran’s wife, Vimla, had said in her statement that Hiran had received a call from an officer named Tawde following which he left home at 8.30pm. Hiran did not return that night, and when Vimla tried his phone at 11 pm, she said it was switched off.

Hiran’s body was found the following morning, but his personal effects including his phone and wallet are still untraceable.

The officials were able to find the address that the number was registered on, which led them to a trader in Bhuj, Gujarat. The investigators discovered that the SIM card corresponding to the number was procured by a local trader. When questioned by the Thane ATS unit, he told the police that he sold 14 SIM cards to a cricket bookie, Naresh Gor.

The trader also told the police that Gor had given one of the 14 SIM cards to one of his friends who worked as a bar dancer.

The ATS team traced the woman who led them to a hotel in Mumbai which Gor frequently stayed at. In order to book a room, Gor would supply his address and identity card details, she told the investigating team. The officers were then able to find Gor through the Aadhar card details that he had supplied to that hotel.

Gor was arrested from Bhuj on March 21. The bookie reportedly revealed the name of a south Mumbai-based club owner through whom he met former police constable Vinayak Shinde and Vaze. Gor reportedly told the ATS that he had given Shinde and Vaze five of the 14 SIM cards that he bought from the Bhuj trader.

It was one of these SIM cards that were used to contact Hiran on the evening of March 4. The ATS suspect that Shinde or Vaze pretended to be a policeman by the name of Tawde to lure Hiran to a spot along Ghodbunder Road in Thane, following which he was abducted. The call reportedly lasted for 11 minutes.