""Ayeessa Kya" (Is it so?)" continues...

Latif was investigated for his role in several cases of murder and extortion including the Rauf Waliullah Case pending with the CBI. In the early hours of Saturday on November 29, 1997, two years after his arrest, he was shot dead by Gujarat Police at the Naroda railway crossing. Apparently, Latif had been taken outstation for the investigation of a builder’s murder and, while being brought back to the police lock-up he tried to escape after asking permission to “ease himself’. The police escort fired at him to prevent him from fleeing and, in the process, he was fatally wounded.

A testimony to the potential of police and civil cooperation, the arrest of Latif showed what synergy can achieve. While the Gujarat Police provided the initial lead, the Special Task Force of the CBI, under my charge, followed it up with painstaking care and precision. On account of our personal contact with them, the telephone authorities, at the end of the day, provided excellent technical support.
Displaying exemplary camaraderie, the Delhi Police proved to be a committed and capable comrade-in-arms. A senior officer of the Gujarat Police was there himself to identify the voice of the gangster and lead his team in Delhi. It was a dream operation that brought the curtains down on don Latif. May he rest in peace!