MUMBAI: The three-storeyed Masulla building in Mumbai’s Pakmodia Street belonging to Dawood Ibrahim , which was put on the block recently, was bought by the Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust (SBUT) for Rs 3.51 crore at an auction held in the city on Thursday.

The Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha and an SC lawyer, Bhupendra Bhardwaj, too participated in the auction. The base price for the property, which is in the name of Dawood’s mother Amina Bi (who died a decade ago) and is also known as Amina Mansion, was Rs 79.43 lakh; the earnest money was Rs25 lakh.

“Masulla building has been declared unfit and poses a serious risk to the lives of tenants and pedestrians. So we participated in the auction and acquired it in order to redevelop it,” the spokesperson said.

The auction was carried out under the Smuggling and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act (SAFEMA).

Sources said Masulla was part of Dawood’s ill-gotten assets, and the gangster spent some of his prime years in the building. It has several shops and houses.

