MUMBAI: If the court approves, and the Mumbai police have their way, articles like phones, jackets, towels and toiletries, “manufactured” in Pakistan and seized from the ten terrorists of the Mumbai terror attacks would be auctioned.
A police officer of the city police, confirming media reports, said that the police would auction jackets, trousers, cell phones, toothpaste tubes, tissue papers, etc., as well as the dinghy which the terrorists used to reach the city, will be auctioned. The police are in a hurry to auction the seized articles and may not wait for the trial to end and would put these to auction once these are presented in the court as evidence.
Another senior official said that it was not necessary to hold back these seized articles till the trial into the terror attacks end, but these can definitely be auctioned once presented in the court and permission taken from the magistrate. However, it would take time of about six months for the auction to take place, the official said.
The auction of the terrorists’ articles may fetch a higher price in comparison to other auction where articles seized from accused are sold at lower prices. This, police sources said, may be due to the infamy and association with a sensational event.
The government prosecutor for the Mumbai terror trial, Ujwal Nikam “It is a normal practice to put personal belongings recovered in such cases up for auction. Under Terrorists and Disruptive Terrorists Act (TADA), there were provisions to attach the accused’s property, and therefore underworld don Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar’s property was put under the hammer. However, in this case, it is the prerogative of the investigating officer and he has to seek permission form the court for the auction,” he said.
Meanwhile, bolstering its coastal defense capabilities in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks, the Indian Navy will today commission here its first helicopter base INS Shikra, an official said. “The Indian Navy has had an air station in operation (in Mumbai) since 1964 with a small helicopter maintenance unit. However, with the commissioning of INS Shikra, the navy will have a dedicated helicopter base,” the official said of the facility that will be commissioned by navy chief Adm. Sureesh Mehta, who is also the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee.
— With input from agencies
