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

In early 1987, lodged in jail under the Goonda Act, he contested the Ahmedabad Municipal elections from five wards and won in all five. Hugely popular in his community, he had become a role model for the younger lot. His ultimate ambition of becoming the Dawood Ibrahim of Gujarat had been realized in substantial measure already.

Latif’s clout and stature in the underworld soared to such an extent that Dawood thought it prudent to make peace with him. In November, 1989 Latif received a message from Dawood to come to Dubai along with his cronies. A maulana (Muslim priest) administered an oath to Dawood and his men on one side and Latif et al on the other. All of them swore by the Holy Quran to be friends and work for each other. That was the coming together of two dreaded criminal gangs now ready to play complementary roles. Dawood advised Latif to quit the illicit liquor business and join him in the smuggling of gold and silver. Latif got into gold trade with one Mamumiya Panjumiya, a notorious smuggler of Gujarat. In the interim, he had to take on one Shahzada of Bombay, who had become his archenemy. In a series of gun-battles, several gangsters on both sides were killed. Abortive attempts on Latif’s life kept him on guard and he never hesitated from taking murderous pre-emptive action.

Then came the infamous Radhika Gymkhana Case, which was to set a new benchmark in the history of crime in Gujarat. Suspecting one Hansraj Trivedi, an Ahmedabad-based bootlegger and owner of gambling dens, to have given shelter to hired killers sent by his Bombay rival Shahzada, Latif decided to take revenge on Trivedi. On August 3, 1992, acting on a tip off, Latif sent a team of shooters to
Radhika Gymkhana in the Odhav area of Ahmadabad to target Hansraj Trivedi, who was playing cards there with eight of his friends. The shooters, unable to indentify Trivedi for certain, called Latif on phone and informed him of their problem. Latif ordered his shooters to kill all.

To be continued...