The plot to bomb Mumbai was hatched at a meeting of smugglers and Pakistani ISI representatives at the Dubai residence of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim at the close of year 1992. It was Tiger Memon’s idea to target financial centres like the Bombay Stock Exchange and he vowed to carry out the terror attack. The ISI representatives offered full cooperation, while a Pakistani smuggler Taufiq Jaliawala agreed to provide the money.
Accordingly, the ISI managed a huge quantity of RDX as well as the deadly AK-56 assault rifles and hand grenades, made in Pakistan.
Tiger organised landings of February 3 and 9, 1993, at Shekhadi coast in Raigad district, 180 km south of Mumbai. Tiger’s landing agent was Dawood Phanse, who got instructions about the landing directly from Dawood Ibrahim. Around 9,000 kg RDX, hand grenades and AK-56 rifles were brought on shore from Shekhadi and transported to Mumbai in jeeps and tempos by Tiger and his men.
Training in Pakistan
Tiger had already collected a group of young Muslims who would do his bidding, but they had no skill in bomb making and shooting. In February, three batches totalling 19 persons were sent by Tiger to Pakistan via Dubai for training into RDX bomb making. In March, Tiger took a group of five boys and trained them in throwing hand grenades and AK-56 rifle handling at Sandheri ghat near Mhasala in Raigad district.
On their return to Mumbai from Pakistan, Tiger Memon organised a meeting of key local conspirators at Taj Mahal hotel in South Mumbai. From there, they did a recce of BSE, Air India Building, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation building, Shiv Sena Bhavan and so on.
The attack
It was the Islam’s holy month of Ramzan and the day chosen for attack was the 17th day of that month. After making all arrangements, Tiger left for Dubai by an early monring flight on March 12. The actual execution of the plot was left to Javed Chikna, the second-in-command of Tiger, who gave orders to others. Javed Chikna is still absconding.
Tiger had already managed vehicles — an Ambassador, two Maruti vans, three Maruti 800 cars, a Commander jeep, a motorcycle and four scooters, most of which belonged to the Memon family or his friends.
On the night of March 11, in the presence of Tiger, all these vehicles were loaded with RDX and connected to detonators at the Memon’s garage at Al-Hussaini building in Mahim. RDX was filled in boots of cars and in dickies of scooters. Three suitcases were also filled with RDX and attached to timers.
On March 12, Javed Chikna, who was now in command, dispatched planters to various pre-arranged destinations one by one. Five others threw hand grenades at the Hindu fishermen's colony in Mahim, while two others threw grenades at Sahar airport. The last was the planned massacre of BJP-Sena corporators at the BMC, and Chikna took the lead. He and four others took a maroon Maruti van, belonging to Tiger’s sister-in-law Rubina. As they reached Prabhadevi-Worli junction, a jeep bomb planted there exploded and the van crashed on road. They were  scared and abandoned the mission.