By Raju Vernekar
Mumbai, Nov 11:
Six out of the total seven properties of India’s most wanted gangster Dawood Ibrahim, located in Ratnagiri district in Maharashtra, were auctioned by the “Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Authority (SAFEMA) for the price of Rs 22.79 lakh on Tuesday.
At the virtual auction of properties, 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 R N D’Souza said.
Bharadwaj won the bid for 27 gunthas of land (Dawood’s bungalow at Mumbake village in Khed tehsil) 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, 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.
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, he was threatened by Kaskar the moment he reached the site. He said “may Allah keep you in his blessings and may shower his mercy on you”. The way he behaved was threatening. I thanked him and went ahead to inspect, Bharadwaj said. He said he had also participated in auctioning earlier, but was not able to buy the property and added that now he plans to make anti-terrorism centres in the properties he successfully bid for.
Advocate Shrivastava said he had 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,” he added. Shrivastava was active worker of the Shiv Sena from 1997 till 2008.
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 Rs.61 lakh but the authorities realised that revaluation was required.
Also, the property of Dawood aide Iqbal Mirchi at the Mylton apartment in Mumbai, 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, D’Souza said added that more properties of Dawood in South Mumbai and in Ratnagiri would 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 in Ratnagiri, which we could not be auctioned, would be auctioned in the next fortnight.
“As per the procedure, 25 per cent of the bid amount has to be deposited within seven days if the total amount is below Rs 50 lakh, if above 50 lakh, 25 per cent of the bid needs to be deposited within a period of one month. The rest of the amount can be deposited within one month and three months respectively. After the entire payment is made a confirmation letter will be issued communicating the same,” D’Souza added.
