MUMBAI: Thirty-three years after the Mumbai serial blasts, three properties linked to one of the masterminds, Tiger Memon, including his Mahim office that was set on fire during the 1992-93 communal riots, were put up for auction on Tuesday. The auction saw multiple bidders, but the results have not been declared.The auction was carried out under the supervision of Surabhi Sharma, competent authority & administrator, Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act (Safema), 1976. The assets that went under the hammer were a 751 sqft flat with a garage in Mahim’s Al-Hussaini building where the Memons used to live, a 550sqft office Tijarat International, and a 970 sqft flat in Bandra (West).Memon’s Bandra flat had reserve price of Rs 5 croreTiger Memon’s Al-Hussaini building flat had a reserve price of Rs 1.9 crore, Tijarat International Rs 2.05 crore and the Bandra flat Rs 5.2 crore. The CBI, in its chargesheet, claimed that the blasts were meant to avenge the demolition of Babri Masjid. Sources said the attack was also in retaliation to Memon losing his properties during the communal riots. Memon, who is absconding, has been known as a man of revenge since his childhood.Mushtaq Abdul Razzak Nadim Memon, aka Tiger Memon, was born to middle-class parents in Mohammed Ali Road on Nov 24, 1960. He worked as a driver for the Dossa brothers, Mohammed and Mustafa. This is how he came in touch with the Dawood Ibrahim gang.In the mid-1980s, the Memon family shifted to Al Hussaini. Memon was actively involved in smuggling silver and made his name in the smuggling world at the age of 22. During the communal riots of 1992, some hooligans had set his shop on fire. Memon got so furious that he decided to avenge the loss of his property.The govt authorities had attached around one-and-a-half dozen properties owned by Memon and his relatives. “The forfeiture order was passed first by Safema. The Tada court gave order to the court receiver to give the properties to Safema,” said Sharma.Earlier, the other claimants for these properties included CBI and Mumbai EOW. Safema received possession of 17 immovable properties forfeited under the Act in Memon’s case. The office has taken possession of and secured all these properties, and wherever the properties are free from litigation, it has initiated their disposal through auction.“A major achievement has been the successful transfer of a vacant plot measuring approximately 1,200 sqm at Kole Kalyan (Santacruz east) in the name of the competent authority after sustained follow-up with the revenue authorities. The process of removal of encroachment is under way and the property is proposed to be put up to auction positively by Dec 2026,” said Sharma. It belonged to Memons.The physical possession of Memons’ other properties, a 200 sqm plot in Zaveri Bazar, a shop in Dongri, two flats in Kapadia Nagar in Kurla etc, have been taken over by Safema.Memon, along with dozens of others, had conspired and executed 12 deadly bomb blasts in the city on March 12, 1993, that killed 257 and injured 713 others. Properties worth Rs 30 crore were damaged.The Memons did not file a reply in the court when it issued a notice to them regarding the competent authority’s plea to release the properties. On March 11 this year, two flats in Al-Hussaini building belonging to the Memons were auctioned for nearly Rs 2 crore.
