Inside the Ambanis’ latest security nightmare: an unknown caller rang a Reliance Industries hospital 9 times in 2 hours to threaten Mukesh’s life – now India’s richest are once more on high alert
Although Indian police seem confident they have caught the man responsible for the latest threats, the incident has once more raised eyebrows around the risks associated with the family, who don’t shy away from the spotlight.
Here’s what you need to know.
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What just happened to the Ambanis?
Multiple Indian media outlets are reporting that an anonymous caller made up to nine phone calls threatening Mukesh and his family earlier this week. Mumbai police confirmed that it was a man who made the threats, including a warning that he would kill. He reportedly used a landline number at the Reliance Foundation Hospital in the capital. The calls were made in quick succession on August 15 between 10:39am and 12:04pm. A man was later arrested.
So who is the mystery caller?
Mumbai police stated that the man had used multiple names when making the calls, one of them being Afzal Guru, a notorious Kashmiri separatist who was hanged in February. Police later identified the culprit as Vishnu Vidhu Bhaumik. According to Indian Express, Bhaumik, 56, is a jeweller, and he called the helpline number at the hospital to make the threats. Hindustan Times reported that he hadn’t realised Afzal Guru was dead when he made the calls.
He apparently also threatened the call operator and referenced the late Dhirubhai Ambani, the patriarch of the Ambani family and founder of Reliance Industries.
Times Now News reported that the man has been deemed “mentally unstable” by authorities, while Hindustan Times added the man’s lawyer told courts he was undergoing treatment.
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Scary past incidents
The Ambanis’ controversial Z+ security
Earlier this year, the Indian Supreme Court ruled that the Ambani family could continue to have security provided for them by the federal government. They now have numerous security apparatus in place, including staff and cars, all provided by the Maharashtra government.
The government argues that such high level protection is necessary “to create [a] conducive atmosphere for attracting investments”, adding it was “important to protect businessmen in the state”, according to Economic Times.
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- It hasn’t been that long since Mukesh and Nita Ambani’s Mumbai home, Antilia, became the target of a bomb threat, so is their controversial Z+ security enough to keep them safe?
- Mumbai police said they have arrested a 56 year old man, Vishnu Vidhu Bhaumik, who even mentioned family patriarch Dhirubhai Ambani in his angry calls to the hospital