At 34, Hemant Jain saw an opportunity to challenge Mumbai’s infamous mafia when he came across a 144-square-foot shop in the Napada area linked to fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. In 2001, Jain bid ₹2 lakh in an Income Tax Department auction to purchase the property. However, the path to owning it turned into a 23-year-long legal ordeal, as reported by Times of India.

Jain, now 57, recalled how officials initially misled him by claiming a ban on transferring Centre-owned properties, only for him to later discover no such ban existed. The Income Tax Department further complicated matters, claiming that the original property files were missing, stalling the transfer. Jain’s relentless appeals to three Prime Ministers—Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh, and Narendra Modi—yielded only sporadic responses.

In 2017, Jain was informed he needed to pay ₹23 lakhs in stamp duty based on the property’s current market value. He argued that auctioned properties shouldn’t be subject to market-based stamp duties. After years of follow-ups and legal efforts, Jain filed a court case in Mumbai. Finally, on December 19, 2024, following court directives, he paid ₹1.5 lakh in stamp duties and penalties to get the property registered in his name.

Despite this victory, possession remains elusive as Dawood’s henchmen occupy the shop. Jain remains undeterred, vowing to secure possession against all odds. “We villagers don’t know fear. I won’t abandon this fight,” he declared, determined to prevail.