Anil Ambani copter sabotage case gets murkier

Jagdeep Worah
29 April 2009

Three days after industrialist Anil Ambani's helicopter was found sabotaged with stones and gravel in the oil tank, it is still far from clear who perpetrated this dastardly act, and with what motive. However, reports say the crime branch of the Mumbai Police has almost zeroed in on the culprit, an employee with Air Works, which had the contract to maintain the Bell 412 helicopter.

Ambani's company, the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, was quick to allege foul play. A day after the incident, it lodged a specific complaint that ''business rivals'' were behind it. But perhaps only after the 'who' is known will the 'why' emerge, if at all it does emerge.

Meanwhile, the case took a strange twist when Bharat Borge, the Air Works technician who uncovered the sabotage, was found dead on the tracks near Vile Parle on Tuesday, having been hit by a train. A strange and cryptic note was found on his body, addressed to Sanjay Bhole, the investigating officer of the crime branch unit IX who is handling the case. But it does not read like a suicide note.

Three days ago, Borge had phoned his brother, Ananda, at their hometown. "We spoke about the Anil Ambani chopper episode," a report quoted Ananda as saying. His brother said Borge used to leave for work at 7 am every morning "and on Tuesday also, he must have left at the same time. The Air Works office is at Kalina so he must have alighted at Santa Cruz station. But I can't understand why he walked towards the railway crossing."

The railway police nonetheless feel it was a likely case of suicide. Railway police commissioner A K Sharma said it appeared a case of suicide. ''Borge threw himself before a local train heading towards Churchgate,'' he said. Additional DG railways, K P Raghuvanshi, too termed it a case of suicide. However, Borge's family members are not convinced, and are alleging foul play.

The note, handwritten in Marathi, says, ''My parents have brought me up with the right values, and I would never get involved in any wrong activity. After you questioned me and left, Reliance officials visited me. They asked me some questions but I didn't tell them anything.