could not be stopped.

For hours before the auction started, Indian American leaders had consultations on the strategy at the Indian Consulate here with top Indian diplomats including

Consul General Prabhu Dayal.

Talking to reporters, Sant Singh Chatwal, a leading hotelier and community leader who took lead in the negotiations, said it was decided that Indians would not bid against one another as it would have sent up the price.

It was decided that Mallya would bid for the items, Chatwal said, adding he had been in touch with him throughout.

Chatwal too had shown interest in bidding for the items and repeatedly asserted that Indian American would not allow them to be bought by a private collector.

During the auction process, Chatwal and Bedi were sitting side by side and were seen consulting often.

Confusion over whether Otis could take the items off the hammer prevailed with contradictory statements being made by him. He had made a proposal with tough conditions to the Indian government on Wednesday which, analysts said, were impossible for New Delhi accept.

But even in the unlikely event of India accepting Otis' proposal, in all probability, the auction still could not have been stopped in view of the position taken by the auctioneers and in terms of contract signed by him with them.

Though Otis' lawyer Ravi Batra said he would not take any action for auctioneers going ahead with the auction despite his last minute bid to stop it, the Antiquorum officials assert that Otis has no case once he has handed over the items to them for sale under the contact signed by him.