I-T dept cancels auction of Bhajiawala’s property

Surat: Online auction of valuable items owned by city-based financier Kishore Bhajiawala has been postponed by Income Tax department due to a technical fault in its server on Thursday.
Official sources said the valuable goods were seized during raids on the premises of Bhajiawala family in connection with money laundering case registered by Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Sources said 16 bidders participated in the online auction for 71 items seized from Kishore Bhajiawala and his family members on Thursday. Diamonds, jewellery, costly wrist watches and necklaces were put up for online auction. The bid price is estimated at Rs7 crore.
The CBI had on December 14, 2016 registered an FRI against Bhajiawala and his two sons -Jignesh and Vilas- along with a manager of Surat People’s Cooperative Bank under Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) Act after the I-T department recovered Rs10 crore worth of unaccounted notes from their premises. tnn