NAVI MUMBAI:
Raigad district officials had to stop the demolition of fugitive businessman
Nirav Modi’s illegal mansion in Alibaug on Sunday after facing two unexpected problems.
First, it turned out that though the
enforcement directorate (ED) gave them the goahead for wielding the wrecking ball (figuratively speaking) after removing three truckloads of valuables, the officials came upon “exotic building materials” and “expensive devices, fittings and furniture” that they didn’t quite know how to handle: should the earthmover, the device actually being used on the ground, have ripped them apart and crushed them?
Second, the earthmover seems to have reached the limit of its destructive potential as after the preliminaries, it has hit slabs of reinforced concrete—a tough material that constitutes the mansion’s load-bearing and other important features.
Now, this might literally need a wrecking ball to give way.
On the development, rather, the stoppage of it, circle officer P R Mhatre said, “The luxurious mansion has expensive items made of Burma teak sourced from Bali. This has been used to give the mansion, which has marvellous architecture, a posh look. We found two high-end cars inside the bungalow. We also found expensive teapots, cushions and other items like glass frames. Then, there’s a swimming pool and a spa, both unused for years.”
While the district administration is at its wits’ end about what to do with the utensils and fittings, it told ED about the cars, which were then taken away by ED officers. “No decision has been taken on what to do with the expensive cushions, drawing boards, etc, found inside the mansion,” said Alibaug’s sub-divisional magistrate Sharada Powar. “The administration may consult the ED on this matter.”