Former Mumbai police commissioner Hasan Gafoor dead

Hasan Gafoor, the Mumbai police commissioner during the 26/11 terror attack on this financial capital, died here Monday after suffering a massive heart attack. He was 62.

Gafoor was rushed to the Breach Candy Hospital in south Mumbai after the heart attack Monday afternoon, but was declared dead on arrival by the hospital officials.

Gafoor is survived by his wife and daughter. His funeral will take place Tuesday.

Gafoor, an IPS officer of the 1974 batch, was the second Muslim officer to serve as Mumbai’s police after Syed Majeedullah, who was was in office 1962-1965.

He retired from service on Dec 31, 2010 as Maharashtra’s police chief. He also headed the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Housing & Welfare Corporation.

An engineering graduate from the University of Mumbai, Gafoor was instrumental in implementing many technical upgrades in Maharashtra Police.

Said to have had a jolly desposition, Gafoor’s father, the late Khwaja Abdul Gafoor was an Urdu scholar and retired from the post of additional chief secretary of the Maharashtra government.

Expressing grief over Gafoor’s death, Maharashtra Governor K. Sankaranarayanan described him as an upright officer known for his integrity.

“Gafoor was an upright police officer known for his integrity and commitment. He was Commissioner of Mumbai Police during the worst-ever terrorist attacks on Mumbai in November 2008 and led the police operations to tackle the situation from the front. In his demise, the state has lost a brilliant and brave officer and a fine gentleman,” Sankaranarayanan said.