Properties and even the headquarters of Aftek, the Ranjit Dhuru promoted company are under the hammer since last year. However, the lenders still cannot find a buyer. Aftek is another one of Ketan Parekh's 10 stocks which have self-destructed

Aftek (erstwhile Aftek Infosys), one of 10 chosen stocks of Ketan Parekh that was ramped by the speculator and later came to known as K-10 stocks, is under hammer since last year. Lenders such as Bank of India (BoI) and State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur (SBBJ) are trying to find buyers for Aftek's property in Pune's Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park and the company’s head office in Dadar, central Mumbai.

According to sources, till date SBBJ has not been able to find a buyer for the company’s main office ‘Aftek House’, a six storied commercial building with an area of 269.23 sq meters located near Shivaji Park on Veer Savarkar Marg in Mumbai's Dadar area, one of the prime locations in the city.

SBBJ, under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act, 2002, took over Aftek's head office in February 2012. It then put Aftek House under the hammer in May 2012. The reserve price for the deal was Rs64.44 crore. However, it could not find suitable buyer. (http://foreclosureindia.com/viewAd.php?fid=82336&src=ads/SBBJ-A-mihir.jpg)

The bank, then again issued tender-cum-auction sale notice on 14 August 2012 for selling Aftek House. Despite lowering the reserve price to Rs56.57 crore from Rs64.44 crore, the lender could not find any buyer. (http://bankpropertyauction.com/photos/bpics/706-5452761.jpg)

Similarly, during February 2012, BoI, put Aftek's plot in Pune’s Hinjewadi area under the hammer. The reserve price for the plot admeasuring 9,340 sq meters was Rs32 crore. The auction on 14 March 2012 also failed to get suitable buyer. JVD Recovery Agency, the agent appointed for the auction while confirming the news that the property is still on sale has asked us to give an offer!

Aftek was started by Ranjit Dhuru, a scion of a family that owned large tracts of land in the Dadar area. There are two roads named after the Dhurus, with one sub-area is known as Dhuru Wadi (Dhuru colony). The main architect of Aftek was also staying in his 200-year old ancestral house at Dadar.

Ranjit Dhuru is the chairman, chief executive officer and managing director of Aftek. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, he was paid Rs75.02 lakh as compensation during 2012.

Fate of the K-10 stocks...

Global Telesystems, Zee Telefilms, Himachal Futuristic Communication (HFCL), Silverline, Satyam Computers, SSI, Aftek Infosys, DSQ Software, Ranbaxy and Pentamedia were Ketan Parekh’s favourite stocks. Using the money from Global Trust Bank, Madhavpura Mercantile Co-operative Bank and other sources, Parekh inflated share prices of these companies.

Soon after the 2001 scam was exposed, the rigged shares lost their values so heavily that thousands of people lost their savings. Some banks including BoI also lost significant amounts of money. Global Trust Bank and the Madhavpura Cooperative were driven to bankruptcy.

Barring Zee and Ranbaxy, all other K-10 stocks self destructed. Ranbaxy has been sold to a Japanese company. Global Tele is alive but struggling to continue a viable business. Satyam turned out to be a bigger scam and got taken over. DSQ is defunct. HFCL (name changed to Dynamic Infotel), Pentamedia, Silverline and Aftek Infosys are nominally quoted. SSI promoters sold off its their software business converted the company into a shadowy real-estate company called PVP Ventures.