KARACHI, Aug 11: Sindh police have requested the federal government to call back ASP Umar Shahid from the United Kingdom as he is wanted in the ‘staged encounter’ case pertaining to the alleged murder of one, Rasool Bukhsh Brohi.

ASP Umar Shahid, who holds the charge of TPO Lyari, is currently in the UK on a federal government scholarship. The ASP was enrolled in a course of MSc Criminology at the London School of Economics. DIG Manzoor Ahmed Mughal told Dawn on Friday that the Supreme Court directives relating to the concerned ASP had been passed on to his superiors for further action.

He said that the Sindh police, citing the court’s directives, had made a formal request to the federal government to bring back the ASP.

In its hearing on Thursday, the Supreme Court had directed the DIG to bring him (ASP Umar Shahid) back and arrest him within two days.

During the hearing, the chief justice had wondered how was the ASP allowed to go abroad while his name was included in the FIR of the incident.

The three-member SC bench, comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan and Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad, in Islamabad, have taken up the case hearing on a request by Amir Bhumbro, President of the Sindh National Party, to take a suo motu notice of Brohi’s killing.

The case had been registered against about 15 officials of the Lyari Task Force on the basis of the report of an inquiry ordered by the apex court.

The inquiry report said that Rasool Bukhsh Brohi, a labourer, was taken into custody from a public transport vehicle before being killed. Soon afterwards, police identified the deceased as Mashooq Brohi, who was wanted in 200 cases of kidnapping for ransom.

The court adjourned the case to the third week of September and directed the DIG to submit a report before the court.

Earlier on Thursday, the arrested members of the Lyari Task Force were produced before the judicial magistrate, Sakrand, who reprimanded SSP Niaz Khoso for treating the arrested policemen as ‘influential people’ and not handcuffing the suspects.