Incident of dumping explosives near Mukesh Ambani's house: Five fake number plates, letter recovered

MUMBAI: The Mumbai Police lodged an FIR after an abandoned vehicle with explosive material was found near Antilia, the south Mumbai residence of Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani. Intelligence Bureau officials also arrived at the spot to probe the matter further. Seven people are being questioned in connection with the incident.

According to the latest updates on Friday morning, the police team recovered 21 gelatine sticks, each weighing about 125 gm. Police said that the total weight of the explosive is 2.60 kg, enough to explode the entire car if gelatine sticks are attached to other explosive components.

Mumbai Police has formed more than eight teams to investigate the matter and the routes of two cars are being traced via CCTV footages across traffic signals, residential apartments along the routes, besides others. The aim of the exercise is to trace the starting point of the two vehicles and to examine whether the cars are from Mumbai or have been registered in another city.

It is learnt that police found many number plates inside the car, which match the registration numbers of cars in Ambani's cavalcade. "The registration number on the vehicle's number plate was the same as that of an SUV in Ambani's security detail," police had said. The police also found a letter inside the car, however, they refrained from disclosing the contents of the letter.

"Twenty gelatine explosives sticks were found in a Scorpio van in the vicinity of industrialist Mukesh Ambani''s residence in Mumbai. The Mumbai Crime Branch police are investigating the matter and the findings will be out soon," Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had tweeted on Thursday.

"Police have registered the case under Indian Penal Code sections 286 (negligent conduct with respect to explosive substance), 465 (punishment for forgery), 473 (making or possessing counterfeit seal), 506(2) (criminal intimidation, if threat be to cause death or grievous hurt), 120(B) (criminal conspiracy)... Section four of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908, (punishment for attempt to cause an explosion, or for making or keeping explosive with intent to endanger life or property) has also been included in the FIR," a police spokesperson said.