HYDERABAD, July 17: The recent killing of Rasool Bux Brohi, a resident of Kotri Site, by the Lyari Task Force, Karachi, has sparked a controversy in the wake of his family’s claim that he was not Mashooq Brohi, a hardened criminal, who carried a head-money of Rs three million. Knowledgeable police sources in Karachi and Hyderabad told Dawn on Monday that higher police authorities may opt for getting identity of Rasool Bux Brohi verified through Rehman Baloch because Mashooq Brohi had been involved in a number of cases with Rehman Baloch.

The PPO Sindh, Jehangir Mirza, has constituted a committee headed by Additional IG Sindh Tariq Jamil with DIG operation Mushtaq Shah, DIG investigations-II Mir Zubair Mehmood, TPO Shahra-i-Faisal Sultan Khwaja and DPO Jamshoro, Pir Farid Jan Sarhandi to verify if the alleged dead bandit was Mashooq Brohi, who is wanted in more than two dozen cases of kidnapping for ransom, murder, police encounters and other offences. A source said that DPO Jamshoro Sarhandi had also been called by the Additional IG Sindh in Karachi on Monday in this connection.

Sarhandi’s tenure in Hyderabad as SP investigations had led to killing of several hardened criminals like Ali Barnani Khoso in a police encounter, though controversial.

“He (Sarhandi) had also been trying to get hold of Mashooq Brohi that’s why it is easier for him to resolve the controversy”, said a police source, who is also in possession of photographs of Mashooq Brohi and other relevant record.

Such cases, police sources said, are pending in Tando Adam, Sanghar, Thatta, Hyderabad and Karachi.

“Mashooq Brohi, whose real name is Hussain Bux son of Ghulam Rasool is involved in around 19 to 20 cases of kidnapping for ransom in Karachi alone”, said a Karachi-based senior police officer.

He said that it appeared that Lyari Task Force, headed by SP Chaudhry Aslam Khan, had been misguided by the lower ranking police officials before killing Rasool Bux Brohi in a (controversial) police shootout. “The fact that whether he was really Mashooq Brohi could have been got verified because co-accused of Brohi are in jail and those who have seen the picture and heard his voice can also be made available”, said the officer.

Another source claimed that police authorities may get the photos of Mashooq Brohi and deceased Rasool Bux Brohi verified through Rehman Baloch whose arrest is yet to be made public given the fact that Mashooq Brohi had been committing crimes in league with him (Rehman).

Police sources said Hussain Brohi alias Mashooq Brohi was in fact resident of Matiari and for past several years he had not committed any crime in interior of Sindh and his criminal activities were confined to Karachi alone.

The source said that it was again LTF that had arrested Rehman from Balochistan and was instrumental in the arrest of underworld don Shoaib Khan, who died in custody in central prison Karachi in mysterious circumstances.