In a major breakthrough in the Anil Ambani helicopter sabotage case, police arrested two Air Works employees for planting pebbles in the gearbox cap, saying it was an outcome of union dispute with management and not corporate rivalry.
The accused, Uday Manohar Warikar (32) and Palraj Ganpati Thevar (38), helpers with the aircraft maintenance company, were arrested last night and remanded to police custody till May 15 by a local court today.
Warikar allegedly planted seven pebbles in the gearbox cap while Thevar aided him, Joint Commissioner of Police, Rakesh Maria, told a press conference.
Ruling out any corporate rivalry, Maria said the incident was a result of a dispute between the management of Air Works and the 52 union members.
Air Works technician Bharat Borge, who was found dead on railway tracks last Tuesday, was given a clean chit by police. He was the first to detect "pebbles and soil" in the helicopter.
Railway Police, however, are yet to ascertain the reasons for his death but suspect he might have committed suicide.
"Further investigations will be carried out in the case and we shall verify if the arrested duo were acting on the instructions of someone else," crime branch officials said, adding that more arrests were possible.