Cuttack, July 11: The online auction of Safex Infra India Limited's immovable properties, which the firm had garnered by duping people through its deposit collection schemes, drew bidders for only five of the 84 plots under Chatrapur and Purushottampur tehsils in Ganjam district.

The e-auction was carried out after the designated court (Cuttack) had ordered to sell the attached properties of the sham firm through public auction and release the sale proceeds for equitable distribution among the depositors.

The Cuttack additional district magistrate-cum-competent authority had put up for auction the firm's attached properties through a portal.

Around 14 acres were offered today with the total offset price fixed at Rs 1.54 crore. The bidders took part in the e-auction of 0.832 decimal of land.

"While the base price for the five plots was fixed at Rs 13,98,000, they were sold at Rs 16,71,368," Cuttack additional district magistrate Bibhuti Bhusan Das told The Telegraph.

The competent authority made a second attempt after the first on June 16 proved unsuccessful as no bidder turned up for the 84 plots. "The rest of the properties will be referred to the Ganjam district collector for re-fixation of the offset price or any other instruction will be followed as received from the government," Das said.

According to the norms, a special committee consisting of collectors of respective districts has done a valuation of the attached immovable assets of Safex Infra India Limited, based on the benchmark prices.

The state CID-crime branch's economic offence wing had attached the properties of Safex Infra India Limited for duping nearly Rs 25 crore from people by luring them to invest in its various projects by promising highinterests.

E-auction of attached immovable properties of the Astha Group of Companies and the Golden Land Developers Group of Companies has been fixed for tomorrow and Wednesday.