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Maharashtra

Diamantaire Nirav Modi’s HCL House price slashed, DRT orders re-auction in Feb

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Finding no takers for fugitive diamantaire Nirav D. Modi’s one property, its price has been slashed and the DRT has ordered its re-auction, along with certain other prime assets, in one of the cases pertaining to the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam.

Last week, the DRT-I Recovery Officer Ajeet Tripathi put up the HCL House in Marol for e-auction — plus three other lots of properties — to recover a portion of the outstanding of a staggering Rs 22,13,16,39,411.

When it went on the block in September 2022, the unsold HCL House, comprising the entire building with the land, carried a reserve price tag of Rs 52 crore, which has now been slashed to Rs 40 crore, as per the DRT-I announcement.

Besides, the DRT-I has put on the auction block other assets of Modi, including Offices No. 2001-2002 on the 20th floor of the posh Peninsula Park B in Lower Parel with a reserve price of Rs 66 crore, plus over Rs 1.72 crore outstanding maintenance dues till December 2021.

Another property of Modi, the 6th floor of the Mafatlal Centre in Nariman Point along with four parking slots will also go under the e-hammer with a reserve price of Rs 62 crore, besides unpaid maintenance charges for five years coming to over Rs 1.17 crore till May 2022.

Modi’s huge residential 4-BHK flat in Grosvenor House at Peddar Road is going up for auction sale with a reserve price of Rs 15.87 crore, further details of which are not available. Modi also has another address in the prestigious Al Shera Towers, Dubai.

The encumbrances or outstandings on HCL House and Grosvenor House are not known and all the properties shall be auctioned off on the basis of ‘as is where is’ and ‘as is what is’.

The e-auction is scheduled for February 10 — a week after the DRT-I ordered the sale of Modi’s two tony flats in the YOOPUNE housing scheme in Pune, valued at a total of Rs 18 crore, on February 3.

In the fresh auction list concerning PNB versus Firestar International Ltd, the names figuring are Modi and his group companies like Bentley Properties Pvt. Ltd., MAK Business Enterprises Pvt. Ltd., ANM Enterprises Pvt. Ltd., NDM Enterprises Pvt. Ltd., Neeshal Trading Pvt. Ltd. — all operating from a common address at Opera House.

The other companies are: Firestone Trading Pvt. Ltd., Paundra Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. and Radashir Jewellery Co. Ltd. — all registered in a single address at the Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) in Bandra Kurla Complex.

The February 3 and 10 e-auctions may help the PNB and a consortium of around 15 banks to recover a miniscule portion of massive dues, pending since the past five years after the country’s mega-banking scam was admitted by these banks in February 2018.

After the PNB’s complaint on the scam, estimated at over Rs 14,000 crore, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered the first offence in January 2018 — but by then Modi, his wife Ami and other accused had already fled India.

Later, other probe agencies like Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax Department (ITD) entered the picture targeting the two prime accused — Modi and his maternal uncle Mehul C. Choksi — but both had flown the coop well before the scam erupted to shake the roots of the Indian banking sector.

Later it came to light that Modi was holed up in London and Choksi has cosily settled as a citizen of Antigua & Barbuda Isles, West Indies, and both are awaiting their extradition to India — expectedly soon.

In the past, the ED-ITD had auctioned off certain movable and immovable assets — like properties, expensive paintings, artefacts, high-end vehicles, etc., — to recover small amounts of its dues.

“Proclamation of Sale under Rules 38, 52(2) of the Second Schedule of the Income Tax Act, 1961, read with the Recovery of Debts Due to Bank and Financial Institutions Act, 1993,” said the latest DRT-I order of January 5.

Bollywood

Tiger Shroff firing case: 12th accused sent to police custody till Nov 6

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A Mumbai court on Saturday sent Amar, the 12th accused arrested from Haryana’s Sonipat in connection with the firing incident on Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff, to police custody till November 6.

On Thursday, a special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court had sent 11 other accused arrested in connection with the firing on Shroff’s car to police custody till November 6.

The latest accused was arrested from Rohna village in Sonipat.

Earlier in the day, the Mumbai Police had produced Amar before a court, which sent him to police custody until November 6.

According to officials, Amar is accused of having transferred money, allegedly used in the commission of the crime, online. The funds were reportedly used for various expenses, including the purchase of a motorcycle and booking hotel rooms linked to the case.

According to the preliminary investigation, Amar is a friend and neighbour of Kunal, who was arrested earlier in the case. Police investigations have revealed that Kunal allegedly transferred Rs 40,000 to Amar’s bank account.

Amar subsequently transferred Rs 12,000 to Radha’s bank account, another accused arrested earlier, allegedly on Kunal’s instructions.

The Mumbai Police are investigating these financial transactions to establish the purpose of the transfers and determine the connections between the accused. The money trail is being examined as part of the wider investigation into the firing incident.

Amar, who studied up to Class 10, works at a supplements shop. His parents reportedly earn their livelihood through daily-wage labour.

Meanwhile, Amar’s family has claimed that he is innocent and alleged that he has been falsely implicated in the case.

With nine of the 12 arrested accused reportedly belonging to Sonipat, the district has emerged as a key focus of the Mumbai Police investigation.

The police are examining the financial dealings and personal connections among the accused to establish the sequence of events and identify the roles played by individual suspects.

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Maharashtra

36-year-old absconding accused arrested from Gujarat in Mumbai non-bailable warrant

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Mumbai: The Mumbai Crime Branch has claimed the arrest of a wanted suspect, against whom a non-bailable warrant had been issued by the court in connection with a theft case. The 29-year-old complainant was en route to deliver diamonds, gold jewelry, and cash from his shop when, in front of the main entrance of the Panchratna Building, four unidentified individuals—acting in conspiracy—threatened him with a revolver and a knife. They injured him and forcibly stole the diamonds, jewelry, and cash, valued at approximately 2,048,964 rupees. A case was subsequently registered at the D.B. Marg Police Station. Following further investigation by Crime Branch Unit 2, a charge sheet was filed in court. The 59-year-old suspect involved in this crime had repeatedly failed to appear in court during the proceedings, leading to the issuance of a non-bailable warrant against him. The Crime Branch carried out this operation to execute the said warrant.

Acting on direct intelligence and technical analysis, the police team tracked down the 59-year-old suspect—who was a wanted individual subject to a non-bailable warrant—and took him into custody on October 30th in Gaonpur, Vadodara district, Gujarat. This operation was conducted under the directives of Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti, with the involvement of Joint Police Commissioner Anil Kumbhare, Additional Commissioner Krishna Kant Upadhyay, and DCP Raj Tilak Roshan.

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Maharashtra

Mumbai Crime Branch succeeds in Mumbai kidnapping case, convicts accused

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In a kidnapping case in Mumbai, the accused have been found guilty following the prosecution’s presentation of the case by the Crime Branch. Based on the evidence provided, the court convicted the accused and handed down sentences. On August 3, 2018, within the jurisdiction of the Kurla V.B. Nagar Police Station, a 13-year-old boy was abducted by unknown individuals while he was alone at home. A complaint was filed at the Vinoba Bhave Nagar Police Station, and a case was registered under Section 363 of the Indian Penal Code (Case No. 223/2018). Given the highly sensitive nature of the crime, the investigation was transferred to Crime Branch Unit 4, Mumbai. Subsequently, the case was re-registered by the Crime Branch (Case No. 47/2018), and the investigation was initiated. During the investigation into the aforementioned crime, five suspects were apprehended on August 6, 2018, and the kidnapped boy was successfully recovered. Following the collection of all evidence against the suspects, a charge sheet was filed in court—invoking Sections 363, 364(A), 328, 365, 324, 343, 506, and 120(B) of the IPC, along with Section 37(1) of the PESCO Act. On September 30, 2026, the court handed down sentences to the accused: 3 years under Section 328, 2 years under Section 363, 2 years under Section 324, and 1 year under Section 343, in addition to a fine of Rs. 3,500. This operation was carried out under the supervision of Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti, Joint Police Commissioner Anil Kumbhare, and DCP Raj Tilak Roshan.

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