Helicopter sabotage targets Indian
billionaire
Anil Ambani does not wait in traffic.
The billionaire industrialist often commutes by helicopter,
soaring far above the traffic jams that clog his sprawling hometown
of Mumbai.
But Ambani's high-flying life could have ended last week _ a
complaint filed with police said pebbles and gravel were found in
the chopper's engine _ debris that could have caused the craft to
crash.
The case took a bizarre twist this week: the technician who
discovered the suspected sabotage turned up dead. Bharat Borge's
body was discovered on suburban Mumbai railway tracks after he was
apparently hit by a train _ a death police are calling suicide but
Borge's family believes was murder.
The intrigue is only the latest chapter in the Ambani saga, a
multigenerational tale that began with an ambitious patriarch and
includes warring brothers, Bollywood starlets, and egos that match
their multibillion dollar fortunes.
The latest developments have gripped the country, with
newspapers splashing the story across their front pages and TV news
channels giving repeated updates.
Whoever placed the pebbles in the engine understood helicopters,
senior pilot R.N. Joshi of Reliance Transport & Travels _ one
of Anil Ambani's companies _ said in the police complaint. The
chopper likely would have been able to take off, he said, but the
debris would have entered the gear box and cut the power, bringing
down the aircraft.
"Some persons, possible business rivals, were attempting to take
away the life of Anil Ambani," said Joshi.
The alleged sabotage would not have been possible "without
active involvement" of someone at the Mumbai company that
maintained the Ambani helicopter, he said.
Mumbai's chief police investigator, Rakesh Maria, declined to
comment on the investigation, saying only it was under way.
Ambani's father, Dhirubhai Ambani, was one of India's first
great capitalists, a South Asian Horatio Alger hero who inspired
generations of entrepreneurs. He launched the Reliance empire
trading spices and textiles before going public in 1977 in one of
India's first major public offerings. When he died 25 years later,
the Reliance conglomerate was India's largest private sector
company with interests in petrochemicals, plastics, oil refineries,
and more.
His two sons, Anil and Mukesh Ambani, inherited the sprawling
company _ and quickly began feuding.
Their mother divided the conglomerate between them, with Mukesh,
the older brother, inheriting petrochemical, oil, and refining
interests and Anil receiving power generation, telecommunication
and financial services.
The brothers have expanded their respective dominions, and
remain locked in a rivalry that has them jockeying for position on
Forbes' list of the world's richest people.
Mukesh Ambani, who is worth $19.5 billion, is at seventh place
while Anil, worth $10.1 billion, is at 34th, according to
Forbes.
Anil, who dated a string of Bollywood actresses before marrying
one of them, was always the flashier of the brothers. Last year, he
took his first steps into Hollywood when he teamed up with director
Steven Spielberg to launch a production company.
Although the sibling competition has long been heated, no one
has ever accused the brothers of contemplating fratricide. Mukesh
Ambani's name has not been mentioned as a possible suspect in the
helicopter sabotage.
Jayant Patil, the top security official in the state of
Maharashtra, which includes Mumbai, told reporters Wednesday that
there was no "corporate rivalry" behind the incident. He offered no
evidence.
Bharat Borge, a senior Air Works technician, was preparing the
helicopter for a flight to a Mumbai suburb April 23 when he noticed
a problem with a cap in the gear box, according to Joshi's
statement.
"When he opened the filler cap in order to refit correctly, he
was shocked to notice that there were pebbles and gravel in the
filler neck," Joshi said. "This mischief could not have been
noticed in a routine check."
Five days later Borge was found dead with a handwritten note in
his pocket addressed to police. The note said he was questioned by
Reliance officials, "but I didn't tell them anything," according to
published reports.
"One of them took my number and said they would talk to me again
the next day. I got scared that I would be 'used,'" the note
reportedly said.
Maria said authorities were working to determine whether the
handwriting was Borge's.
Borge's family said they suspect foul play.
"He was in the army for 20 years and he was strong, he never got
depressed," Sambhaji Botre, a cousin, told the Press Trust of India
news agency. "We don't believe it is a suicide."