Investigators were unable to find his mobile phone. The postmortem report was inconclusive and the viscera samples were sent to the state forensic lab for further tests. Sources said there were some observations in the report, including the nature of some injuries, that gave rise to suspicion of foul play. Questions were also raised after handkerchiefs were found stuffed inside his mouth, said an officer.
The ATS registered a case of murder, causing disappearance of evidence of offence or giving false information to screen offender, acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention and criminal conspiracy.
The investigation is being headed and monitored by ATS chief Jai Jeet Singh and DIG Shivdeep Lande. The ATS team will also look at the line of investigation initially pursued by the crime branch team. This is also relevant considering that Hiran had hired an Ola cab on February 17, the day the SUV went missing from his possession, to the police headquarters in Crawford Market but ended up taking the cab to another location at CST.