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Dawood's properties to go under the hammer on Thursday

Syed Firdaus Ashraf in Bombay

Gangster Dawood Ibrahim's properties in central Bombay will be auctioned by the income-tax department on Thursday. The auction will be held at the Diplomat Hotel, Colaba, south Bombay at 3 pm.

Altogether, 11 properties will go under the hammer. Sources in the auction market say the following will be their reserve prices:
Rajgara Mansion, Bibi Jaan street (Rs 6.6 million)
Raunaq Hotel, Pakhmodia street, (Rs 600,000)
Damarwala Building, Pakhmodia street (Rs 3.5 million)
Residential building, 24 Yakub street (Rs 3.5 million)
Industrial gala, shed no 1, Jeyarajbhai lane (Rs 250,000)
Humera Engineering Works, shed no 4 (Rs 200,000)
Ghaswala Building, Temkar street (Rs 4 million)
Mohammedbhai Mansion, Baker lane, Mazgaon (Rs 10.05 million)
Garib Nawaz Guesthouse, 3rd floor, Ismail Building, Nagpada (price not available);
Parker Mansion, Honda street, Nagpada (Rs 12 million).

There is immense speculation if the auction will see any buyer interest. The fear of Dawood Ibrahim and the sluggish real estate market, property dealers say, may well reduce the auction to just an official drill.

But the IT department is not unduly worried.

P V M Nair, tax recovery officer, ward No 8, told rediff.com: "I cannot say whether people will come to buy or not. We are doing our duty."

Dawood's properties in the city were confiscated following his involvement in the Bombay serial blasts of 1993 and the I-T department hopes to raise enough money through their sale to offset his outstanding I-T dues.

The department had taken out advertisements in leading newspapers about the auction on January 3 and 4 and pamphlets have been distributed at various places announcing the same.

Sources in the auction market do not think the properties will generate much interest among buyers, even though the consensus is that the reserve prices are well below their market value.

One reason, they say, is that most of the buildings to be auctioned are occupied. "Who will dare evict people staying in Dawood's properties?" asked a dealer.

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