KARACHI: The son of infamous Lyari criminal Rehman Dakait was shot dead in an apparent encounter in the old city area on Monday.
Syed Asad Raza, DIG-South, alleged that Sarban, who is in his early twenties, was establishing a criminal group in Lyari.
“An encounter between street criminals and police within the remit of the Nabi Bux police station took place in which Sarban was shot dead and his accomplice, identified as Maqsood, was arrested in wounded condition,” the Detective Inspector General (DIG) informed Dawn.
Sarban’s father, Rehman, had suffered a similar end in 2009. Police murdered him, as well as his three accomplices.
The DIG stated that Sarban had previously been involved in narcotics trafficking and kidnapping for ransom.
In March 2021, police detained him on drug-related charges and claimed to have confiscated 1,520 kilogrammes of hashish, 50 kilos of ‘ice’, and 60 grams of crystal meth from his possession. He was arrested in five instances and sentenced to prison, but was subsequently released on bail. On June 14, 2022, he was granted bail in his final case and resumed his illegal activities.
The police claimed to have recovered two.30-bore handguns and a stolen motorbike from their custody.
“Sarban was following the criminal path of his slain father and was again organising a gang in Lyari,” the District Attorney’s Office claimed.
‘Reign of dread.’
According to a police statement, the dead mobster established a reign of terror around the old city, notably Lyari.
Sarban and his accomplice murdered one person and injured two more in Kalakot last week.
The police alleged he and his accomplices kidnapped an 11-year-old boy on Raxer Lane. The accused raped and brutally murdered the youngster. They further stated that they put acid on the victim’s body and dumped it in the Kalakot region to conceal his identification.
Last year, he shot and killed a guy named Umer in Nazimabad when he refused to steal a motorbike.
According to the authorities, Sarban and others abducted victims for ransom, transported them to a graveyard, and buried them in ‘fake’ graves to terrorise them.
“They also subjected children to criminal assault and made videos of their horrific act in order to blackmail their victims and their families,” according to the report.
‘One of several sons of Rehman.’
According to Lyari villagers and social activists, Rehman Dakait had numerous sons and girls from his three marriages, including Sarban, his second wife, who had three additional boys from Rehman. She married a local builder following Rehman’s death.
They said that Sarban joined his father’s rival group in Jehanabad before moving to Raxer Lane and eventually settling in Chakiwara.
He and other gangsters had created drug dens in the neighborhood, resulting in a massive surge in the drugs trade in Lyari, they said.
Iqra Khan