3 Dawood assets sold for ₹11 crore
MUMBAI AUCTION Saifee trust wins bid held under tight security at the Indian Merchant Chambers
MUMBAI: The government on Tuesday took another step towards stifling D-Company’s operations in the country and ending his clout on Pakmodia Street by auctioning off three properties of Dawood Ibrahim for over ₹11 crore in Mumbai.
All the three properties were won by Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust (SBUT) in an auction organised by Competent Authority (CA) under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Properties) Act, 1976, conducted by competent authority P Selvaganesh and R N Desouza, joint commissioner. The properties were seized since 1993 serial blasts accused Dawood is still wanted.
As a precautionary measure, officials of Mumbai police and several other agencies kept tab on the proceedings in and around Indian Merchant Chambers (IMC), the venue of the auction.
The SBUT purchased Shabnam Guest House, a double-storied building on Yakub Street for ₹3 crore. Flat numbers 18-20, 25,26 and 28 of the Damarwala Building, and houses 34-40 on Pakmodia Street and Yakub Street, where Iqbal Kaskar and his late sister Haseena Parkar used to reside was auctioned for ₹3.52 crore and the Hotel Raunaq Afroz on went for ₹4.52 crore.
A former journalist raised the highest bid of ₹4.28 crore for the hotel in 2015, but was unable to deposit the sum in the stipulated time.
The officials who auctioned the properties said they had kept stringent clauses this time so that bidders who cannot pay up later do not enter the bid.
As per officials, the SBUT will now have to pay 25% of the amount within 30 days and the full amount within 90 days.
The SBUT had submitted bids through e-auction, sealed tenders and had sent representatives for public bidding if the need arises. The sealed bid submitted by SBUT won the bids, officials said.
An SBUT spokesperson said the three properties fall under their Bhendi Bazaar redevelopment project. “These buildings are in dilapidated condition . To ensure the safety of the families living in these buildings and to carry on with the redevelopment project, we acquired these properties,” their statement read.
OFFICIALS SAID THEY HAD KEPT STRINGENT CLAUSES THIS TIME SO THAT BIDDERS WHO CANNOT PAY UP LATER DO NOT ENTER AUCTION