KARACHI, Aug 10 'Gangster' Abdul Rehman Baloch, variously known as Rehman Dakait and Khan Bhai, and his three associates were allegedly killed in police custody on Sunday night after their capture earlier in the evening in Malir, Dawn has learnt.

Police announced on Sunday night that Rehman Dakait and his three associates - Aurangzaib alias Baba, Nazeer alias Balla and Aqil - were gunned down in a police encounter on the link road in the remit of the Steel Town police station.

According to the SP for investigation (East II), Aslam Khan, the police received a tip-off that Rehman Dakait was returning from Hyderabad. When they tried to stop him on the link road, a shootout ensued in which Rehman and his three associates were killed.None of the policemen suffered even bruises during the alleged encounter with the “most notorious gangster of the province carrying a head money of Rs50 million”.

Well-placed sources told Dawn that Rehman was not in hiding. He moved around with his men in one or more vehicles. He reportedly had a good relationship with some provincial ministers.

On Sunday, Rehman along with his four associates went to a transporter's in Gadap Town, where he owned around 50 acres. The visit was related to a land deal. However, the sources added it appeared that Rehman was invited there.

On his way back, Rehman and his associates were intercepted by a police party near Memon Goth, the sources said, adding that there was no resistance during the arrest. Rehman might be feeling confident that he would again walk free from the police custody and this time with enhanced dignity.

The sources said the police were also tracking down Rehman technologically, since the vehicle he was travelling in, a four-by-four, was fitted with a tracker. It belonged to — and was driven by — Aurangzaib alias Baba.

Sources said the arrest of the four suspects took place at around 4pm, following which the four suspects were taken to a farmhouse in Gadap Town.

APCs move into Lyari

At around 7pm, the police authorities called in all the armoured personnel carriers stationed in different parts of the city to reach Lyari.

The orders said it was for inspection. Subsequently, the APCs stationed at even most sensitive places were withdrawn and moved into Lyari. As it later transpired, the calling of the APCs to Lyari was a pre-emptive move on the part of the police authorities. They clearly anticipated a breakdown of law and order in Lyari following Rehman's death in a “police encounter”.

It was only after taking clearance from the higher authorities that the four suspects were “disposed of” in the same farmhouse in what appears to be case of a custodial killing, the sources said.

Instead of the four-by-four vehicle, a Corolla was shown in the staged encounter by the police.

And, instead of calling ambulances at the scene of the incident, as is usually done even after fake encounters on roads, the police shifted the four bodies to the mortuary of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre in a four-by-four vehicle (Y-7954).

The four bodies were stuffed in the boot of the vehicle with two police guards sitting on top.

A medico-legal officer of the JPMC, Dr Abdul Jabbar Memon, said that bullets were fired from a distance of three to four feet. Rehman suffered a hail of bullets in the face and four bullet wounds in the chest. Similarly, the other three suspects also suffered multiple bullet wounds in their faces and chests from the same distance.

Among the first few relatives visiting the JPMC, the wife of Nazeer alias Balla reached the mortuary, broke into it and wailed on seeing the body of her husband. By 5am, a sizeable number of Rehman's supporters had reached the JPMC mortuary, and when the bodies were being moved to the Edhi morgue, sympathisers riding motorcycles tried to divert the body-bearing ambulances to Lyari.

However, the large police presence foiled the attempt and the four bodies were shifted to the Edhi morgue.

City police Chief Waseem Ahmed declined to speak when Dawn contacted him for his version of the story.

Recent role

Since the People's Party-led government came to power, Abdul Rehman alias Dakait had started to play a social and political role after putting an end to the gang warfare by striking a deal with his arch rival Ghaffar Zikri and setting up peace committees. Though the peace committees were criticised as “another extortion racket”, there has been relative peace in Lyari.

In an attempt to cultivate a new image in the area, Rehman had financed marriages of several girls of Lyari, a senior police admitted.

However, a new conflict between the Baloch and Katchi communities was fomented in Lyari.

More recently, Rehman was making demands for a greater role in the political world by asking that administrators of his choice be appointed in the new set-up, which is going to replace the local government system.

Earlier in 2006, Rehman was arrested in Quetta and after remaining in the custody of intelligence agencies and the Lyari Task Force for a few days, he escaped in August.

Funeral and deaths

Three persons were killed at separate places along the route of the funeral procession of the alleged gangsters on Monday.

Rafiqullah, who was later identified as an activist of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, was killed and two others, also MQM activists, were wounded when unknown persons opened fire on them in Baldia Town.

Police said the incident coincided with the funeral procession of Rehman Baloch which was passing through the area when the incident occurred.

In another incident, an unknown man in his mid-20s was killed when he was hit by a bullet near Bara Board. Police said he was watching the procession as it moved by.

On Monday night a young man was killed when unknown persons opened fire at the Husht, or Aath, Chowk in Lyari, killing a young man, Nauman, and injuring another one.

Two persons were killed in the Pak Colony police jurisdiction when unknown persons riding a motorcycle opened fire on them. Police said the victims were identified as Fahim Baloch and Irfan, who suffered multiple bullet wounds. The police attributed the killings to the tension arising out of Rehman Dakait's death.

The funeral prayers of the four suspects were offered on the Eidgah ground at Cheel Chowk. A large number of area people and the sympathisers of the dead attended the funeral.

Abdul Rehman Baloch was buried in the Mawach Goth graveyard while the other suspects were buried in the Mewashah graveyard.

Rehman was not buried in the Mewashah graveyard as the area is said to be in the control of the Arshad Pappu gang. The grave of Rehman's father, Sher Muhammad alias Dadal, buried in the Mewashah graveyard, had also been vandalised by his rivals.