Petition withdrawn in Sara-Sahara case

New Delhi, July 31 (UNI) Decks were cleared for demolition of sara-sahara complex in greater mumbai, allegedly owned by mafia don Dawood Ibrahim, when the petitioner withdrew his petition in the Supreme Court, filed for stay of the demolition of the complex.

An apex court bench, comprising Mr Justice S B Sinha and Mr Justice Dalveer Bhandari dismissed the petition of Abdul Rahman Abdul Gafoor Sheikh, as withdrawn after counsel for the petitioner informed the court that he wanted to withdraw the petition. Sheikh is one of the tenants in the premises.

The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai has already razed to ground seven unauthorised commercial complexes adjacent to main Sara-Sahara complex which have over 200 illegal shops.

An area of 20,000 sq ft is in the illegal possession of Dawood Ibrahim,the main accused in 1993 bombay bomb blast conspiracy case.

Dawood is the proclaimed offender in the case and is in the list of 61 most wanted terrorists in the world.

The petitioner had come in appeal to the Supreme Court against the MCOCA court order directing demolition of the complex within 48 hours and the deadline had expired on July 29. The Supreme Court on July 28 had refused to stay the MCOCA court order.

UNI AKS/SC AT BD1431