Properties belonging to Tiger Memon, a key accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, and his family are slated for auction, including a flat where some of the conspiracy meetings were allegedly held. The Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act Authority (SAFEMA) has received details of 17 properties owned by Memon and his family from the special TADA court.
SAFEMA has already taken possession of eight of these properties, including three flats in the Al Husseini building in Mahim, central Mumbai, where the Memon family, including Tiger Memon, his five brothers, and their mother, once resided. According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), one of the conspiracy meetings related to the blasts was conducted in the Memon family's flat in the Al Husseini building. The family owned three flats on the fifth and sixth floors. These flats were seized by law enforcement agencies 34 years ago, following the exposure of Tiger Memon and his family members' involvement in the blasts and were opened in April.
Tiger Memon has been absconding since the blasts on March 12, 1993, which resulted in at least 257 fatalities across 12 locations in Mumbai. He is believed to be in Pakistan. Yakub Memon, one of Tiger's brothers, was hanged in 2015 for his role in the conspiracy. Other family members received varying prison sentences from the special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court.
In addition to the Al Husseini building flats, the properties include a flat in Bandra (West), an office premise in Mahim, an open plot in Mahim, a vacant plot and a flat in Santacruz (East), two flats in a building in Kurla, an office on Mohammed Ali Road, a shop and plot in Dongri, three shops in Manish Market and a building on Sheikh Memon Street, Mumbai. Four other properties of the family are currently under litigation, and the process of taking possession of five more properties is underway. The properties are owned by 11 members of the Memon family, including Tiger Memon, his younger brother, Yakub Memon, and his mother Hanifa Memon.
The Central Government authorities are currently assessing the valuation of the eight seized properties. Legal procedures are expected to be finalized soon, with the auction process potentially commencing in December or January.
A special court in Mumbai had previously ordered the release of 14 properties linked to Tiger Memon to the central government. These properties had been in the possession of the Bombay High Court's receiver since 1994, following a TADA court order. The order for release came after an application filed under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act (SAFEMA). SAFEMA, enacted in 1976, allows authorities to forfeit illegally acquired properties of smugglers to the central government.
Notices regarding the release of the properties were sent to 13 members of the Memon family, including Tiger Memon, but no response was received. The authorities had identified and forfeited several properties owned by the Memon family in September 1993, considering them proceeds from the family's smuggling activities. In January 1994, the TADA court formally attached the properties.
