India was gripped Wednesday by claims of attempted murder and professional jealousy against one of the world's richest men, as a technician who uncovered the alleged plot was found dead.
Bharat Borge, a senior technician with Air Works India Engineering, last week discovered sand and stones in the fuel tank of a Bell 412 helicopter belonging to the wealthy industrialist Anil Ambani.
But in a twist worthy of a crime novel, Borge's body was found on a railway track in a Mumbai suburb Tuesday evening, according to police, who said a note was also recovered and the case was being treated as suicide.
Indian media reported that the note was to a detective who had questioned Borge, and also claimed that before his death Borge had received visitors from the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-ADAG), of which Ambani is chairman.
Borge, who was in his 40s, is said to have written in the note that he was afraid he would be blamed.
Police said they had ruled him out as a suspect and are trying to trace the mystery R-ADAG representatives.
There was no immediate comment from R-ADAG when contacted by AFP.
Borge's family have disputed the suicide claim and called for a top-level inquiry by India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which probes only the most serious of criminal cases.
"The state government must seek a CBI probe into the matter as the entire episode of Bharat's death is not clear," Borge's cousin, Sambhaji Botre, was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India (PTI).
"(His) wife and two children are in a state of shock and cannot believe that Bharat has committed suicide."
He added: "He was in the army for 20 years and he was strong. He never got depressed. We don't believe it was suicide."
Air Works said it was saddened to hear of Borge's death and described him as "one of the most valued members" of their Mumbai airport-based team, which carried out maintenance work on the aircraft.
"He showed exemplary presence of mind in discovering a tampering attempt with a helicopter under maintenance contract with us," it added in a statement.
Air Works registered a complaint of "mischief with intent to cause hurt or death" immediately after the discovery of the stones, as they could have interfered with the aircraft's engine.
A separate complaint filed by a senior pilot of Reliance Transport alleged that business rivals may have been trying to kill Ambani, who flies by helicopter from his home to work to avoid Mumbai's gridlocked traffic.
Ambani is India's third-richest man, with total wealth of 12.5 billion dollars, according to a Forbes magazine rich list published last November. His brother, Mukesh, runs India's largest private sector firm, Reliance Industries.