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Fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi’s bungalow at Kihim beach in Alibaug could be demolished on March 8 using controlled blasting, according to a report in The Hindu.
The sprawling seaside mansion Roopanya, attached by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) following Modi’s involvement in the Rs 13,000-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, standing in Alibaug, Raigad district was declared illegally built and that it had flouted environmental norms.
On December 6, the Maharashtra government told the Bombay High Court that it had ordered demolition of Modi's illegal bungalow. Orders were also conveyed to the Raigad sub-divisional officer to demolish the bungalow on the same day, a PTI report said quoting an official familiar with the development.
On January 24, the building was handed over to the collector’s office, after the ED seized two trucks full of valuables from the building.
On the next day, the Raigad collectorate started the demolition work using bulldozers, but they found the work time-consuming due to the RCC construction in the building.
On January 27, structural engineers from Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Technical University conducted a survey of the structure. Following discussions, the experts suggested that the district officers should carry out the demolition with the help of controlled blasting.
“A special technical team has been called to fix the detonators. The team arrived on Tuesday (March 5) night and surveyed the bungalow. We have decided to carry out the demolition on Friday (March 8) morning,” Bharat Shitole, additional collector of Raigad told the newspaper.
On March 5, district officials restarted demolition practice. The workers used excavators to open up the pillars of the bungalow to make space for fixing of detonators.
According to Shitole, “the work on opening up the pillars and fixing explosives will continue on a war footing. Work will continue at night as well using floodlights.”
As the authority has decided the demolition, the fixtures from the bungalow will be up for auction, the report added.
A Jacuzzi, a chandelier, and a Buddha statue have been kept aside and will be handed over to the ED, Raigad Collector Vijay Suryawanshi told the newspaper.
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