Mumbai apartment of Dawood’s sister Haseena Parkar auctioned for Rs1.80cr

The Centre had taken over the flat in March, as none of Parkar’s relatives could prove that she had purchased it legally.

A flat in Nagpada belonging to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim’s sister, the late Haseena Parkar, was auctioned for Rs1.80 crore on Monday. The 800 sqft apartment was bought by a private buyer, whose identity was withheld.

Seizing and auctioning Dawood’s properties in India is part of the government’s efforts to curb the gangster’s operations in the country. (File Photo)

The Centre had taken over the flat in March, as none of Parkar’s relatives could prove that she had purchased it legally. Parkar died of a heart attack in 2014.

The e-auction for the 3BHK flat was conducted under the Smuggling and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act (SAFEMA), and the bidding began with a base price of Rs1.69 crore.

“A private person has bought the flat… He has to make the payment in the next three months. We have successfully completed the sale, with adequate security arrangements being made for swift and fearless auctioning,” said RN D’souza, additional commissioner, SAFEMA.

Seizing and auctioning Dawood’s properties in India is part of the government’s efforts to curb the gangster’s operations in the country.

The Supreme Court, in April last year, had passed an order to seize Dawood’s seven properties at Nagpada, as the Centre had said these properties were acquired using “ill-gotten income” from his criminal activities.

After the gangster escaped from India in the late 1980s, Dawood’s mother, Amina, and sister, Parkar, had taken over the properties.

Before passing the order last year, the court had given the family several opportunities to prove that the properties were purchased through a legitimate source of income, but they failed to do so.

Acting on the court’s order, last year, the government had auctioned a number of properties belonging to Dawood. They were bought by the Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust (SBUT) in a public auction.