The investigating team probing the alleged murder of Mansukh Hiren believe that his killers were hoping that the dead body would not be found for a couple of days. However, due to low tide, the body surfaced in the creek.
46-year-old Mansukh Hiren’s allegedly stolen vehicle was found outside the house of business tycoon Mukesh Ambani’s residence Antilia on February 26. Hiren was found dead in a Kalwa creek near Reti Bandar in Thane on March 5. A case was registered on March 8 by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad under sections of murder and criminal conspiracy.
When Hiren’s body was found, initially, the police speculated that it was a case of suicide. However, they found that his face mask was intact and several handkerchiefs stuffed in his mouth that raised suspicions. The Indian Express quoted a police officer investigating the case saying that it is unlike that a person would commit suicide with the mask on to save himself from Covid-19.
It is possible Mansukh Hiren was killed first and then thrown in the water
Police believe that there were more than one killers. They stuffed his mouth with pieces of cloth to prevent water from entering his body so that it does not surface quickly. The police said that they are certain that Hiren was killed first, and then his body was thrown in the creek.
The officer said that when water enters a dead body, it becomes bloated and rises up to the surface. “We suspect the mask and handkerchiefs were put in to prevent water from entering the body. This would ensure that the body did not emerge and take a few more days for it to be discovered,” the officer added.
However, the body surfaced as the alleged killers could not factor in the low tide while throwing it in the creek. The officer said that during low tide, the body got stuck and was spotted. “It does not appear that it came floating from somewhere far,” the officer added.
Killers tried to throw police offtrack
Hiren was using two mobile phones. The police believe that the killers used these phones to throw the police off track. When police tracked the movement of these mobile phones, they found that the phones were switched on and off 30 minutes apart on the night Hiren got missing. One of the phones was switched on and off in Vasai-Vihar. The second phone was switched on and off at Tungareshwar.
Vasai-Vihar is around 40 KM away from Naupada in Thane, where Mansukh Hiren lived and had his car décor business. Tungareshwar is located 10 KM further away from the location. On the other hand, Kalwa creek is just 5 KM from Thane. Police believe that the killers switched on and off his phones on far locations to create false location indicators for Hiren. The officer said that it would have given an impression that Hiren had gone to those spots. “In reality we suspect, he was murdered by then, and his body had already been dumped into the creek,” he added.
Hiren had left his shop after receiving a call
During the investigation, the police found that Hiren had left his shop on March 4 after receiving a call from someone who identified himself as Tawde from Crime Branch. When Hiren did not return home late, his family members tried to call him, but his mobile phones were switched off.
His son filed a mission person’s complaint at Naupada Police station in Thane. On March 8, the National Investigation Agency took over the terror scare case outside Ambani residence from ATS. The death of Hiren and Vehicle theft case will be handled by ATS.
