Underworld don Dawood’s ancestral home, five other properties auctioned
10-11-2020: Six properties of Underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, including his ancestral home in Mumbi village in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district, were sold in an auction held on Tuesday, an official said.
The auction was held by authorities under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act (SAFEMA), the official said.
The ancestral home of India’s most wanted terrorist went for more than Rs 11 lakh.
A land plot in Lote village in Ratnagiri district remained unsold due to technical reasons and will be put for auction again, the official said.
At the virtual auction of properties in Ratnagiri district, four were successfully bid by Supreme Court lawyer Bhupendra Bhardwaj. The other two bids were won by Delhi-based advocate Ajay Shrivastav.
“The intent of the law is to not allow offenders under SAFEMA and narcotic offences enjoy the fruits of illegally gotten money,” SAFEMA Additional Commissioner RN D’Souza said.
Bharadwaj won the bid for 27 gunthas of land with a reserve price of 2,05,800, 29.30 gunthas of land with a reserve price of Rs 2,23,300, 20 gunthas of land with a reserve price of Rs 1,52,500 and 18 gunthas of land with a reserve price of Rs 1,38,000.
Shrivastav, meanwhile, got 24.90 gunthas of land with a reserve price of Rs 1,89,800 for Rs 4,30,000 and 27 gunthas of land (with a reserve price of Rs 5,35,800) for Rs 11,20,000.
Here is what successful bidders say:
Bharadwaj, 42, a practising lawyer in the Supreme Court said when he came face to face with Dawood’s uncle Ismail Kaskar when he had gone to inspect the property on November 2.
“I was threatened by Kaskar the moment I arrived at the site. He said ‘may Allah keep you in his blessings may he shower his mercy on you. The way he behaved was threatening. I thanked him and went ahead to inspect,” said Bharadwaj.
Bharadwaj said he participated in auctioning earlier as well but was not able to buy the property. He says he plans to make anti-terrorism centres in the properties he successfully bid for.
Advocate Shrivastava said he bought a property from the Income Tax department in the early 2000s but is still fighting a legal battle in Mumbai court to get its possession.
“I will be making Sanatan Siksha Mandir at both plots. Religious education will be imparted for people who have forgotten about religion,” Shrivastav said.
Property not auctioned due to technical reasons
While the SAFEMA auctioned six properties, it had to withdraw Dawood’s property at Lote in Ratnagiri from the auction due to technical reasons. As per officials, the land was earlier valued at 61 lakh but the authorities realised that revaluation was required.
Also, the property of Dawood aide Iqbal Mirchi could not be sold for the second time. The bidders who came to inspect the site told SAFEMA authorities that the property was overpriced.
More properties of Dawood Ibrahim will be auctioned in the future, officials said.
D’Souza said properties of Dawood in South Mumbai and in Ratnagiri could be auctioned soon. “The one in Bhindi Bazar area of Mumbai is still under litigation but we will have some more properties of Dawood under the hammer soon. The one at Lote, which we could not auction today, could be auctioned in the next fortnight,” D’Souza said.
An apartment belonging to Dawood’s close aide Iqbal Mirchi also remained unsold, he said. (Agency)
