HYDERABAD: Three families have expressed fear that their children — who have been missing since Friday — would be killed in an encounter

like one in which three alleged robbers were shot dead by police in the wake of July 22’s bank robbery.

Police say the three robbers belonged to banned outfits.

One family has even moved the Sindh High Court Hyderabad circuit bench to know whereabouts of 20-year-old Hamza while the mother of missing young seminary student Shahzeb aka Rafay and family members of Ashaar Shahani try to locate them.

Information gathered by Dawn revealed that of the three alleged militants killed on Friday, Fahad Memon and Manzoor Arain came from the families with religious background. Memon originally hailed from Matiari, but his family also has a house in Wahdat colony near Noor Masjid of Raiwind’s Tableeghi Jamaat. Manzoor Arain, who studied in a Site area seminary of Deobandi school of thought for sometime, was actually from a family of having Barelvi sect beliefs. The third accused, Asadullah Pathan, was from Quetta.

Fahad Memon’s first cousin, Ashaar Shahani, remains missing since Friday. “My entire family, including women, are connected with Tableeghi Jamaat. Everyone knows Fahad was a simple man,” said Fahad’s paternal uncle Taufiqur Rehman.

Police did not confirm that Ashaar was in their custody, “but we have reports that he was picked up by police the same day and he might be killed in a staged shootout like the July 22 encounter”, feared Mr Rehman in the backdrop of Sindh police’s infamous ‘half-fry’ and ‘full-fry’ strategy that has gained notoriety in Hyderabad district in the last few years.

“Had there been charges, these must have been investigated and Fahad should have been charge-sheeted. Police claim that he was connected with Al-Qaeda and used to send money [from Sindh] to the outfit,” he said.

Fahad’s maternal uncle, he said, had sent him off in a bus bound for Khyber, an area near Matiari, on Wednesday and he went missing on the way.

The Hyderabad SSP had claimed that three alleged dacoits — Asadullah, Manzoor Arain and Fahad Memon — who committed a dacoity on July 22 and were killed in Bodhani area the same day when a police party going for the recovery of the looted cash was ambushed within the jurisdiction of Hatri police station. They had links with banned outfits, the police officer said.

Hatri police lodged FIR 81/16 about the encounter, citing Shahzeb aka Rafay, Naeem aka Noman and Hamza Shaikh as absconders in the case.

It is learnt police also picked up one Ghulam Mohammad from Industrial Colony, Qasimabad, after the July 22 police shootout. Earlier, Ghulam Mohammad’s brother Mairaj Ahmed was taken away by plainclothes personnel on May 17.

Manzoor Arain – a resident of Iqbal Shah colony Site area – comes from a family of Barelvi school of thought. He under influence of his friend got admission in the Site area’s Deobandi seminary two years ago. “Our father forced him to discontinue the studies there [seminary] as we follow Barelvi beliefs,” said Mansoor Arian, deceased’s elder brother.

“We remained unaware till Sunday as father had gone out of the city,” he said. On Friday, his sisters said Manzoor had gone to buy eggs, which he used to sell at shops, but did not return, he said. “His cell phone was attended only for 16 seconds on July 22, but nobody talked,” Mansoor said.

Likewise, Ms Shahnaz, mother of Shahzeb aka Rafay, in a statement delivered to Dawn, has appealed to the police authorities to help her find her son. Shahzeb, who is in early 20s, also studied in a Deobandi seminary in Unit-9 Latifabad for sometime.

Family sources said he discontinued going there and was working as a salesman. “He was taken away by policemen in a car near Allahwala chowk in Hirabad,” she said, apprehending that he might be killed in an encounter after being implicated in false cases. “We approached police and were told that Rafay was taken away by police from Karachi,” said his uncle while requesting anonymity.

Sindh High Court Hyderabad circuit bench on Tuesday issued notices to the police authorities, including the Inspector General of Police (IGP), DIG and Hyderabad SSP, and others for Aug 4 on a petition filed by Hamza’s father, who was represented by Sher Mohammad Leghari advocate.

It is learnt that the flat where three dacoits had stayed in Bhitai Town after Friday’s robbery and killed in encounter was rented out in one of the absconders’ name.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2016