There was high drama in south Mumbai on Thursday evening after an abandoned SUV with explosives was found parked on Carmichael Road in the tony Pedder Road area. Police said the vehicle — a green Scorpio with a wrong number plate had around 20 Gelatin sticks in it — was about 600 metres away from the house of Reliance Industries Limited chairman Mukesh Ambani on Altamount Road.
There are several other prominent spots in the vicinity, including Jaslok Hospital, the Russian Centre, and multiple apartment buildings. Police clarified that the material found was not an assembled explosive device. “A suspicious vehicle was found on Carmichael Road today evening under limits of Gamdevi Police Station. Police was alerted. Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) team and other Police teams reached the spot immediately, examined the vehicle and found some explosive material Gelatin inside. It is not an assembled explosive device. Further investigation is going on,” Mumbai police spokesperson, deputy commissioner of police Chaitanya Siriprolu said.
A second police officer who asked not to be named said the car was suspiciously abandoned on Carmichael Road since the previous night . After the police control room was informed on Thursday, cops called in the bomb squad. “Two explosive detector Labrador dogs of BDDS - Oscar and Moti - detected suspicious explosives and alerted their handlers. The bomb squad personnel were then called in who scanned the articles found in the vehicle and identified it to be gelatin. The same was taken out safely and taken to a safe place following standard procedures. In all 20 gelatin sticks were found,” said a third officer.
The person who parked the car at the spot at around 1 am on Thursday has been captured in the CCTV of a nearby general store. The police will enhance the quality of the CCTV footage to identify the suspect, the second officer said. He said the number plate may have been of a car that belongs to Ambani’s security detail. HT could not independently verify this.
{{/usCountry}}The person who parked the car at the spot at around 1 am on Thursday has been captured in the CCTV of a nearby general store. The police will enhance the quality of the CCTV footage to identify the suspect, the second officer said. He said the number plate may have been of a car that belongs to Ambani’s security detail. HT could not independently verify this.
{{/usCountry}}Home minister Anil Deshmukh released a statement on Thursday, saying a car with gelatin sticks was found near Mukesh Ambani’s house, and that the Mumbai crime branch will investigate the case. “It has been taken very seriously and the police will unearth the plot and nab the people behind it. Since the investigation is underway, it would not be appropriate to speak more on it. If need be, there will be additional security cover given to the Ambani family,” minister of state for home Shambhuraj Desai said.
With inputs from Surendra Gangan