Business rivalry ruled out in Ambani chopper case

Mumbai, May 4 (PTI) Mumbai police Monday ruled out any
corporate rivalry behind the sabotage of prominent Indian
industrialist Anil Ambani's helicopter and claimed to have
solved the case after it arrested two employees of an aircraft
maintenance firm.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rakesh Maria told
reporters that it was a dispute between the management of Air
Works maintenance that led to the incident in which pebbles
and chemicals were put into the fuel tank of the Bell 412
helicopter used by Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group
Chairman Anil Ambani last month.

The two accused, Uday Manohar Warikar (32) and Palraj
Thevar (38), both helpers working with Air Works, were
arrested Sunday night and produced Monday before a court which
remanded them to police custody till May 15.

The detection of pebbles in the fuel tank had led to
speculation of a corporate rivalry behind it and coupled with
it was the mystery surrounding the death of Bharat Borge, a
technician, on the railway tracks last week which police said
was suicide.

Borge was not not involved in the incident and in fact
it was his alertness that led to detection of the pebbles in
the fuel tank, the JCP said.

Maria said the pebbles had been planted by Warikar in
the helicopter belonging to a big company, probably to attract
attention to their dispute.

Maria said this was not the only incident but fifth of
its kind since August 2008 because of union-management
rivalry.

He said on April 22 the helicopter was parked at Air
Works hangar in Kalina and on the next day the maintenance
work commenced for the scheduled flight subsequently.

Engineers checked the helicopter thoroughly. Later, the
two helpers were sent to do the cleaning. "Warikar took the
opportunity and planted pebbles and soil in the gear box".

Maria said cases were registered under the Suppression
of Unlawful Activities Act, the Safety of Civil Aviation Act
and the Indian Penal Code against the two employees who had
endangered helicopter's safety.

He also said there was history of such cases in Air
Works since August 2008. "During investigations we have
found that there was rivalry between the management and 52
helpers of Maharashtra General Kamgaar Mahasangh since 1995
and there are also cases in the Labour court," he said.

The dispute between the helpers and management had
resulted in a spate of incidents at Air Works.

Following the two incidents in which fireworks were
exploded in the airport premises, cases had also been lodged
with the police but no arrests were made, Maria said.

Both Warikar and Thevar did not know the technical
aspects of the helicopter. That was why they left the cap of
the fuel tank with the arrow mark in the wrong direction which
is why the sabotage was detected by Borge.

They knew that the helicopter belonged to Anil Ambani's
company and so they tampered with it to attract attention,