The plot that attracted the Rs 2-crore bid was the smallest of the four.
The auction of four properties owned by Dawood Ibrahim concluded today, with two of the land parcels getting no bids and one, which had a reserve price of just Rs 15,000, being sold for an eye-popping Rs 2 crore. Dawood is India's most wanted terrorist and is believed to be hiding in Karachi.
The buyer of the plot said he paid so much for it because the survey number and the amount add up to a figure in numerology that works in his favour. He intends to set up a Sanatan school there.
The four tracts of agricultural land were auctioned under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act, 1976. They are located in Mumbake village in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district, and their combined reserve price was just Rs 19.22 lakh.
While the two bigger land parcels did not receive any bids, a plot with an area of 1,730 sq m and a reserve price of Rs 1.56 lakh was sold for Rs 3.28 lakh.
The smallest land parcel, which has an area of 170.98 sq m and had a reserve price of Rs 15,440, has been sold for Rs 2.01 crore. This plot was bought by lawyer Ajay Srivastava, who had earlier purchased three of the underworld don's properties, including his childhood home in the same village.
When he was asked why he had paid so much for the agricultural plot, Mr Srivastava, who is a former Shiv Sena leader, said, "I am a Sanatani Hindu and we follow our panditji. The survey number (of the plot) and the amount have a figure that goes in my favour according to numerology. I will start a Sanatan school on this plot after getting it converted."
"I had bid for Dawood Ibrahim's Bungalow in 2020. A Sanatan Dharm Pathshala Trust has been set up and, after getting it registered, I will start a Sanatan school there as well," he said.
Earlier Purchases
The first auction of Dawood's properties was held in 2000 and no one had turned up to bid, probably because of fear of the 1993 Mumbai blasts mastermind.
In an auction in March 2001, in which Mr Srivastava was the only bidder, the lawyer had bought two shops owned by the terrorist in Mumbai's Nagpada. He is still fighting for possession of the shops even though a Mumbai court had ruled in his favour in 2011. The order was challenged in the Bombay High Court and the case is being fought by the children of Dawood's sister, Haseena Parkar.
In another auction in 2020, the lawyer bought Dawood's childhood home in Mumbake village, where the terrorist was born. He has not got the deed for the bungalow yet, because of some discrepancies in the documents which were prepared by a government department. The mistakes have now been corrected and he hopes to get the deed soon.