Fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi’s seaside bungalow in Alibaug town near Mumbai was demolished on Friday using explosives, PTI reported.

Raigad District Collector Vijay Suryawanshi told PTI that it was a controlled blast. Suryawanshi had said in January that the bungalow was illegally built and violated several norms of the coastal regulation zone as well as the state.

On Tuesday, excavators were brought in to drill into the thick concrete pillars of the bungalow to make space to fix the detonators, according to NDTV. A technical team was then called in to install the explosives.

The 33,000 sqft bungalow, “Roopanya”, is located on Kihim beach and estimated to be worth Rs 100 crore, reported News18. The Enforcement Directorate had attached the bungalow as the agency is investigating Modi in connection with the Rs 13,000-crore Punjab National Bank fraud.

District authorities took up the demolition after the Bombay High Court issued an order demanding action against illegal bungalows, hotels and resorts violating the high-tide and low-tide zones in villages dotting the beaches of Raigad. The order was based on a public interest litigation filed by non-profit Shamburaje Yuva Kranti in 2009.

Last year, the Maharashtra government had written to the Enforcement Directorate seeking permission to demolish the structure.

Suryawanshi said on Friday that fixtures from the bungalow will put up for auction. Three items – a jacuzzi, a chandelier, and a Buddha statue – will be handed over the Enforcement Directorate.

District officials had begun demolition work on January 25 using bulldozers, but found it time-consuming. Structural engineers from Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Technical University later suggested that the district authorities carry out the demolition with the help of a controlled explosion.