A property belonging to the family members of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, at Mumbke village in Ratnagiri district, Maharashtra, Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. Two out of a total of four properties were sold off on Friday at an auction organised under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act.
Credit: PTI Photo
It is not just the Indian authorities that are after the most wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim. A Delhi man is after the dreaded gangster too — more precisely, his properties.
Ajay Srivastava, a lawyer based in Delhi, has his eyes set on Dawood’s real estate in India and is ready to pay enormous amounts of money to acquire them. Recently, when four of Dawood’s properties were up for auction, Srivastava bought the smallest land parcel. The lawyer shelled out an incredible Rs 2 crore to get the land which had a reserve price of just Rs 15,000.
For most, real estate linked to any gangster, let alone India's most wanted terrorist, is a risky proposition but for Srivastava it is just normal business. The recent buy is the latest addition to the series of Dawood Ibrahim’s properties that he has bought.
Srivastava does this because he considers this his brand of ‘patriotism’.
While talking to NDTV, the lawyer recalls how his first buy helped other people also to come forward against the terrorist.
The first of these buys dates back to 2001 when Srivastava bought two of Dawood’s properties in Mumbai's Nagpada. "In 2001, I read in the newspaper that Dawood's lands were being auctioned by the Income Tax Department but people were not coming forward to bid, I understood that people were scared."
He was the sole bidder then but he said it paved the way for others to come forward.
"I felt that I should come forward against a terrorist and soon after, more people started coming forward," he said.
With the right of the properties came threats and ultimately a call from the terrorist’s lawyer.
"Three-four years ago, Dawood's family contacted me through his lawyer and said 'you should sell this property to me and tell me how much money you want'. I refused because my aim is not to earn money," he said.
As threats mounted, Srivastava got Z+ security which remained with him for 11 years.
He then went on to buy Dawood’s ancestral bungalow.
"Dawood was born there. I want to build a Hindu school like how madrassas function. And, I established Sanatan Dharma Pathshala Trust for this purpose," said Srivastava.
However, possession of all these properties still eludes him with court cases going on.
Explaining the reasoning behind his most recent purchase, Srivastava said, “The land I bought yesterday is close to his bungalow. I have bought all the surrounding land. Only this piece was left. If this land would have gone to someone else, the surrounding areas would have lost their value.”
“I consider this patriotism," he asserted.