Mansukh Hiren was found dead at the creek days after the Scorpio he was using was found parked outside Mukesh Ambani's residence in Mumbai on February 25 with gelatin sticks and a threat letter. The viscera report of Thane-based shopowner Manuskh Hiran, whose murder is being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), has ruled out that poisoning led to his death.
The viscera was sent to the forensic science laboratory (FSL) as the postmortem on Hiran’s body turned out to be inconclusive. Hiran is suspected to have drowned.
The body of Hiran, who used the Scorpio vehicle found parked outside industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence in Mumbai on February 25 along with gelatin sticks and a threat letter, was found floating in the Mumbra creek on March 5. He was reported missing by his family the previous night.
After his body was recovered, the local Thane police had lodged an accidental death report. Later, a murder case was registered by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad, following which the probe was handed over to the NIA.
So far, the NIA has arrested five persons in connection with the Ambani terror scare case and Hiran’s murder. The central agency believes that Hiran was murdered by dismissed Mumbai Police officer Sachin Waze – later arrested in connection to both cases – and others, as they were worried he would spill the beans on their alleged involvement in the Ambani terror scare case.
Besides Waze, three other police officers, along with a private person, have been arrested.
“We received the viscera report last month. It has ruled out death by poisoning,” said an NIA officer. A viscera examination tests the internal organs of a body to rule out poisoning or any other abnormality in case of suspicious deaths.
While the viscera was sent to the FSL by the Thane police, the report was handed over to the NIA as the agency is now investigating the case. The NIA has also taken viscera samples from Hiran’s body and an official said the agency may ask the Central Forensic Science Laboratory to conduct a test again.
The NIA officer said that based on their investigation so far, they believe that Hiran was rendered unconscious and dumped in the creek where he died due to drowning.
The police had found his face covered with a mask and his mouth stuffed with handkerchiefs to ensure that water did not enter his body and remained at the bottom of the creek. However, on account of low tide, the body appeared on the surface of Mumbra creek within hours of it being dumped.
What further lays credence to the NIA theory is the diatom test that was conducted on Hiran’s body. The test, although inconclusive, has hinted that Hiran may have been alive when he was thrown in the creek after diatoms – algae found in water bodies – were found in his body. The diatom bone samples were later sent to the Haryana FSL for testing.
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