Mumbai Bidder Secures Dawood Ibrahim’s Ratnagiri Properties After Multiple Auction Attempts

Four of fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim’s ancestral agricultural land parcels in Ratnagiri have finally found a buyer. The properties were auctioned on March 5, 2026, with a Mumbai-based bidder emerging as the highest bidder for all four plots.

According to reports, the auction was conducted under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act (SAFEMA). The four agricultural plots are located in Mumbake village, Khed taluka, Ratnagiri, which is believed to be Ibrahim’s native area. Several of these plots were originally registered in the name of his mother, Amina Bi.

A Mumbai-based buyer emerged as the highest bidder for all four agricultural properties in Mumbake village. The winning bidder successfully acquired survey nos. 442 (Hissa No. 13-B), 453 (Hissa No. 13-B), 533, and 617 (Hissa No. 13-B), which were previously part of Dawood Ibrahim’s ancestral holdings. Survey no. 442, the largest of the parcels with a reserve price of Rs 9.41 lakh, went for over Rs 10 lakh. The remaining three plots, with reserve prices ranging from Rs 15,440 to over Rs 8 lakh, were also secured by the same bidder.

It is being reported that the bidder must complete the payment by early April 2026 to finalize the acquisition after which the government will conclude the forfeiture and disposal process for the Ratnagiri properties.

These Ratnagiri plots were no strangers to the auction block. Over the past decade, officials have tried several times to sell these ancestral properties with attempts in 2017, 2020, 2024, and 2025. Many of these rounds either drew very few participants or failed entirely to attract buyers. According to Free Press Journal, surveys nos. 442 and 453 were highlighted in earlier high-profile auctions but repeatedly failed to sell, often going unsold two to three times due to limited interest.

Survey no. 533, a smaller plot, also struggled to find buyers in past rounds, while survey 617 saw sporadic bidding, including one unusually high offer before being returned to auction cycles. “These parcels have clear titles and government backing, yet factors like their location and the stigma attached to Dawood Ibrahim’s name have historically discouraged buyers,” an official said as quoted by Free Press Journal.

The auctions also attracted attention due to the involvement of Delhi-based lawyer Ajay Srivastava, a frequent participant in SAFEMA property sales over the past 20 years. Srivastava first came into the spotlight in 2001 when he successfully bought two industrial units in Nagpada, though he later got entangled in a lengthy legal battle with the heirs of Haseena Parkar, which remains unresolved in the Bombay High Court.

He remained active in acquiring Dawood-linked properties, including the ancestral bungalow in Mumbake village in 2020, which he subsequently placed under a trust. In 2024, he made headlines again with a high-profile bid of Rs 2.01 crore for the small Survey 617 plot whose reserve price had been only Rs 15,440. But the bid was cancelled due to non-payment, which paved the way for the March 2026 auction.

Dawood Ibrahim, head of the D-Company criminal network, remains India’s most wanted fugitive. He is held responsible for the 1993 Mumbai bombings, a series of attacks that claimed 257 lives and left around 700 injured. Indian authorities assert that Ibrahim is currently based in Pakistan, a claim that has also been noted in UN reports. As per NDTV, Pakistan in 2020 unintentionally cited several of his properties in Karachi, which included the “White House” near the Saudi Mosque in Clifton, a residence on 30th Street in the Defence Housing Authority, and a large bungalow in the hilly area of Noorabad. Soon after, Islamabad clarified that these addresses had not been officially verified by the government.