Properties of 1993 Mumbai blasts accused Tiger Memon and his family set to be auctioned

Mumbai, Nov 6 (PTI) Properties owned by 1993 Mumbai serial blasts accused Tiger Memon and his family, including a flat where one of the conspiracy meetings had taken place, are set to go under the hammer soon, an official said on Thursday.

The Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture and Property) Act Authority (SAFEMA) had received details of 17 properties owned by Tiger Memon and his family members from the special TADA court here, he said.

Of these, the SAFEMA has obtained possession of eight properties including three flats in Al Husseini building in central Mumbai's Mahim where the Memon family including Tiger Memon, his five brothers and their mother once lived, the senior official told PTI.

Tiger Memon, absconding since the blasts of March 12, 1993, which killed at least 257 persons at 12 locations in Mumbai, is believed to be in Pakistan. While Yakub Memon, one of his brothers, was hanged in 2015 for his role in the conspiracy, other family members were given different prison sentences by the special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court.

Four other properties of the family are under litigation, while the process of taking possession of five properties was underway, the official said.

Central government authorities are getting valuation of the eight seized properties done.

Legal formalities are expected to be completed soon and their auction process could start in December or January, the official said.

As per the Central Bureau of Investigation, one of the conspiracy meetings was conducted at the Memon family's flat in Al Husseini building. The family owned three flats on the fifth and sixth floor.

The flats, seized by law enforcement agencies 34 years ago after the roles of Tiger Memon and his family members in the blasts came to light, were opened in April.

The Memons' other properties include a land parcel measuring 10,000 square meters in Kole Kalyan area in suburban Vakola, valued at around Rs 400 crore.

The SAFEMA is yet to get possession of this land, which has been encroached upon and is flanked by two buildings.

The authority was in the process of getting possession of another property in the prime locality of Zaveri Bazar in South Mumbai, said the official.

A flat in Bandra and two flats in Kapadia Nagar, Kurla, will also go under the hammer after the SAFEMA gets possession, he said.

Besides, there are four shops in Manish Market in South Mumbai, jointly owned by Tiger Memon and Mohammad Dosa, the official said, adding that an appeal against the TADA court's order to hand them over to the SAFEMA was pending before a court. PTI DC KRK