Threat call to Mukesh Ambani, family: Cops detain suspect

The Mumbai Police detained a 56-year-old suspect in a threat call case after Reliance Foundation Hospital filed a complaint about receiving phone calls posing threats to RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani and his family. The calls were received at around 10.30 AM on August 15 at Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre, which is managed by Reliance Foundation. The hospital is located in Girgaon, South Mumbai.

The detained suspect has been identified as Vishnu Bhowmik, a South Mumbai-based jeweller and a resident of Dahisar. The police say the suspect made eight calls in the name of one 'Afzal' in two hours. The suspect reportedly also threatened and abused Mukesh Ambani. The police have lodged a complaint under section 506(2) (criminal intimidation and issuing threats).

"Reliance Foundation has filed a complaint about the threat calls to Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani and his family. More than three calls were received at the hospital. A probe is underway,” a Mumbai police statement said.

The caller is suspected to be mentally unstable, a news agency reported. This is the second threat to the Ambani family in over a year after explosives were found in a Scorpio car near the billionaire's home on February 24, 2021. Apart from 20 gelatin sticks, a handwritten threat note was also found in the vehicle, which was addressed to the Ambani family.

As the police lodged first information reports (FIRs) for the theft of the abandoned car and started pursuing the case, the police recovered the body of Mansukh Hiren, the alleged owner of the vehicle. Police had found his body in a creek.

The case was later transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and this led to the subsequent arrest of Sachin Vaze, an infamous encounter specialist. A few months later in September 2021, the police filed the charge sheet in the case. Along with Vaze, many other names including Riyazuddin Kazi, the officer at the criminal intelligence unit of the Mumbai crime branch; Sunil Mane, a suspended cop; and cricket bookie Naresh Gor were also mentioned in the NIA charge sheet in the case.

Mukesh Ambani is the second richest person in India after Adani group chairman Gautam Adani. Mukesh Ambani, one of the promoters of the oil-to-telecom conglomerate, holds 8,052,020 shares of Reliance Industries. The company’s shares are trading at ₹2,641 apiece, up 0.30%, today, compared to the previous session close of ₹2,633. As a result, the company’s market capitalisation stands at ₹17,87,019.59 crore.

Mukesh Ambani's total net worth stands at $93.6 billion, as per Bloomberg Billionaire Index. Gautam Adani, with a $128 billion net worth, is the wealthiest man in Asia and the fourth richest man in the world.