HYDERABAD: Thatta police have arrested Bashir Brohi – the manager of a sitting Sindh minister and informer of ex-SSP Hyderabad Pir Farid Jan Sarhandi – in Qasimabad area on Thursday for his alleged involvement in kidnapping and release of Asif Memon, a cousin of sitting Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer and former DIG Bashir Memon. Asif Memon was released after payment of Rs7.5 million as ransom.

Interestingly, it was a team formed by Sarhandi, now SSP Thatta, which arrested Brohi from Hyderabad and Sarhandi has, according to latest reports, now been transferred by IG Police Sindh. Thatta police are said to be making an entry regarding Bashir’s arrest.

Sarhandi is being asked to hand over charge to Fida Hussain Mastoi, former SSP Thatta. Brohi – a temporary resident of Cantonment area – was working as manager of a sitting minister from lower Sindh region. He was an informer of former SSP Hyderabad Pir Farid Jan Sarhandi. He was arrested by Thatta police from Qasimabad after the evidence, especially the calls data record (CDR) of Brohi proved that he was in touch with kidnappers by caste Brohi for kidnapping of Asif Memon.

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Asif Memon, now working as a district population officer in Sujawal, was kidnapped on Oct 23 last year in Hyderabad and released 82 days later upon payment of Rs7.5m as ransom.

He is an engineer by profession and part of construction business as well. “When he was kidnapped the kidnappers didn’t know that he is a first cousin of former DIG Hyderabad Bashir Memon, who is now serving in IB Rawalpindi,” said a police source.

Bashir Memon hails from Hala, Matiari district. He had been annoyed with Hyderabad district police for delay in recovery of his cousin and kept using his influence with Sindh police high-ups to get Asif released. While Memon was in Lahore, Asif was released after ransom payment and with Memon’s consent.

Bashir Brohi was also reportedly appointed in Hyderabad district police. According to one report, he is still in service while another report said that he was dismissed soon after his appointment. “He is now with Thatta police,” said a source. He added that Bashir had confessed that he had kept Rs1m while Rs6.5m was given to the “actual captors”.

Sarhandi, who Brohi was working for, didn’t know that Bashir Brohi was directly involved in Asif’s kidnapping. He got his CDR verified and got him arrested. Bashir was seen frequenting and sitting at SSP office and also his house. He was looking after farmlands and other land-related affairs of a sitting minister. The DIG of Hyderabad, Khadim Rind, talked to Sarhandi for custody of Brohi, but drew a blank.

SSP Hyderabad Irfan Baloch and DIG Rind could not be contacted because they didn’t attend phone calls.

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2015

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