Suicide suspected in Ambani chopper witness' death

Mumbai: Preliminary investigations into the death of Airworks technician Bharat Borge, who found pebbles in the fuel tank of industrialist Anil Ambani's helicopter, indicate suicide, Railway Police said on Thursday.

Borge was found dead on railway tracks near suburban Vile Parle station on April 28 and a letter found on his person.

Railway Police Commissioner A K Sharma said so far no official of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) had been called for questioning but they did not rule out the possibility of quizzing them in future.

The Government Railway Police (GRP), however, would question the Crime Branch official to whom Borge's letter was addressed. In the letter, Borge had alleged that a Reliance official had met him and asked for his telephone number.

Corroborating the suicide theory, a senior GRP officer said: "looking into the post mortem report and the statements of two eyewitnesses recorded by police, it seems that Borge had committed suicide."

Preliminary post mortem report said Borge had died due to multiple head injuries following which police registered a case of accidental death.

However, the final report is awaited, the official said. The statements of eyewitnesses recorded by police also raised suspicion that Borge might have committed suicide, the official said.

Gopinath Pawar (58), a leverman posted at Vile Parle crossing, in a statement to police, said he had seen Borge crossing the tracks but suddenly he halted in front of the Churchgate-bound train and seemed to crouch before being hit.

Another eyewitness, PK Pillai, the motorman of the train that knocked Borge down, in his statement, said he saw a man on the tracks at a distance of around 100 feet from the train. "I blew the horn hoping that he would jump aside. He could have saved himself but he did not," he said.

Police are examining the phone records of Borge to find out why he departed from his routine by getting down at Vile Parle station and not at Santa Cruz on way to workplace at Kalina.

Police also wants to find out why he walked up to the railway crossing from Vile Parle station and whether he was asked by someone on telephone to do so.

The GRP would also question the Crime Branch official, Inspector Bhule, to whom Borge had addressed a letter which was found on his person after he was found dead.