Sabarinath = Your money lost

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When the name Sabarinath is involved, someone is destined to lose money. And, it seems that the physical involvement of the former is not even necessary for this to happen. If it was a band of unsuspecting investors who lost all their money running after profit a few years ago, it was the turn of Selvaraj, a bidder, who forgot to check the basics before bidding for Sabarinath’s luxury car, to suffer on Friday.  Selvaraj, residing at Kalady in the city, was one among the 52 bidders who had turned up at the office of the Official Receiver of Thiruvananthapuram District Court, where three cars of big-time swindler Sabarinath were kept for auction by the court. Even though Selvaraj easily won the bid for a luxury car, a 2008 model Skoda Superb, his reluctance to accept the bid caused him a loss Rs 50,000, which he had remitted as earnest money.  The face value of the car was assessed by the court at  Rs 13 lakh. And, the car went to Selvaraj, whose bidding amount was just  Rs 1000 higher than the face value, as nobody else had bid for it. But, it was only later that Selvaraj found out that the car was in fact not a diesel model, as he had expected, but a petrol model which gave only a paltry mileage. He expressed his desire to withdraw from the bid before the Court Receiver, following which he had to surrender his money. He was also slapped with a case of breach of contract.  As many as three cars of Sabarinath, including the Skoda, were on auction. The other two cars were a Honda CRV and a Tata Indica. The Honda, the face value of which was fixed at  Rs 11.30 lakh, went for  Rs 12 lakh and the Tata Indica, priced at Rs 1.20 lakh, went for Rs 2.52 lakh. The cars went to Tony of Shangumugham and Rajeev of Thozhukkal, near Neyyattinkara, respectively.  As many as 52 people took part in the auction. A not-so-small crowd had formed outside the office of the Official Receiver of the District Court to witness the proceedings. It also included second-hand vehicle dealers and financiers, who turned up hoping to catch hold of an an instant customer in the bidders.