Palike pulls down 100-cr complex

The demolition was carried out after the Palike won a legal battle against Shantaraj, the owner of the property, in the High Court recently.

The commercial complex, more than 10 years old, is tucked between Apollo Hospital and Fortis Hospital. It housed many commercial establishments including a brick factory, a coffee shop, a bank branch and more than 20 houses, and earned more than Rs six lakh per month as rent.

Shantaraj had produced fictitious documents to different government departments to claim the property in his name. He even dragged the Palike to court and fought his case for nearly seven years.

Finally, the Palike won the case on August 11, this year, to reclaim the government property.

The Palike, along with the Deputy Commissioner, Bangalore Urban, and the Police department started the demolition on Thursday morning, but delayed the process until evening after the bank authorities sought time to move their lockers to the new branch in
J P Nagar.

“All the establishments, including residential owners, were given prior notice,” said Shivabasavaiah, BBMP Joint Commissioner (Bommanahalli).

The demolition of the building concluded on Friday, after which BBMP fenced the property and installed a board laying its claim to the land.