Mumbai company buys Iqbal Mirchi's Bhopal bungalow

Bhopal, Mar 16 (UNI) A Mumbai-based company paid about Rs 5 crore for a local bungalow that had belonged to the underworld-linked Memon Iqbal Mohammad Merchant alias Iqbal Mirchi and was auctioned.

Located in the posh Shyamla Hills, the bungalow bore the underworld stamp for about a decade and was known as 'Angrezan ka Bangla' as it was once the home of a British lady. It made headlines in 1999 when the body of Anil Sharma alias Abdullah, prime accused in Bollywood director and music mogul Gulshan Kumar's murder, was found there.

''The auctioning was supervised by the Central Excise and Customs Department's senior officials who came from Mumbai. The bungalow went for Rs 4.85 crore. The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act empower the Department to forfeit property,'' Senior Superintendent Sayyed Abrar Hussain told UNI.

The bungalow was forfeited in 2001.

''My headquarters has directed gathering of details of similar immovable property in Madhya Pradesh,'' the official added.

Mirchi, who was once an associate of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and a drug smuggler, had purchased the bungalow in his wife's name.

After being a small-time trader, Mirchi -- who hails from Gujarat -- headed for Mumbai and quickly entered the underworld. His name came up in connection with the 1993 serial blasts that rocked India's commercial capital. It is said that Mirchi is in London.

''The buyer has deposited 10 per cent of the amount. Later, the buyer will deposit 25 per cent and the bungalow will be registered in the buyer's name if the entire amount is deposited within three months,'' said Mr Hussain. In such cases, the buyer's name is not disclosed. Most of the more than 20 people who took part in the auction were locals.

UNI