MQM's Raees Mama arrested at Karachi airport

Most-wanted suspect nabbed with Interpol assistance

KARACHI: Police investigators on Tuesday requested for a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to be formed to grill Raees Mamma, a notorious target killer belonging to a political party.

The accused was arrested by Interpol in Malaysia as red warrant was issued against him. A police source privy to the matter told The Express Tribune that Mamma was arrested in Malaysia in December last year through Interpol. However, Korangi police disclosed his arrest late on Monday night saying that they arrested him from Jinnah International Airport Karachi.

Mamma is considered a close aide of Hammad Siddiqui, a former in-charge of MQM’s Karachi Tanzeemi Committee who has reportedly just been brought back to the country after his arrest in Dubai. However, his arrest has not been disclosed.

Hammad Siddiqui is a prime suspect in the Baldia factory fire. Nearly 250 people burnt to death after a horrific blaze erupted in the factory in September 2012. The factory was allegedly set ablaze after the owners failed to pay Rs200 million extortion, which Rehman alias Bhola and Hammad Siddiqui had demanded from them.



Mamma, a former in-charge of MQM’s Korangi Sector besides being involved in various criminal activities including target killings and china-cutting, has also been involved in major criminal cases including the May 12 carnage, target firing at a Police commandos’ bus in Korangi’s Chakra Goth and the Mohabbat-e-Sindh rally in Lyari.

“It is submitted that the accused Raeesuddin alias Mamma, son of Ameenuddin has been arrested. About one dozen FIRs are on record against the accused. The accused is a hardened criminal and his JIT is required to be convened. It is therefore requested that a letter may kindly be moved to home department Sindh for convening of the JIT in respect of the accused consisting of the representatives of law enforcement agencies and intelligence agencies,” reads a communiqué written by Investigations III Korangi, East Zone SSP Zulfiqar Maher to Additional IG Karachi Mushtaq Maher.

The police investigators have gathered his criminal record, which includes at least 12 FIRs registered in Korangi and Zaman Town police stations while two more have been registered for possessing arms, ammunitions and explosives which were recovered from Eidgah ground in Korangi on the information provided by him on Tuesday.

According to police sources, Mamma has revealed that he was the front man of Hammad Siddiqui and conducted criminal activities on his directives, adding that besides Korangi’s Chakra Goth incident, he was also involved in various cases of target killings of Lyari gangsters and workers of a rival political party Muhajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi (MQM-H), adding that he was once arrested from the airport and was later released after the intervention of the  then governor of Sindh.

Earlier in Oct 2015, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) issued non-bailable arrest warrant against Raees Mamma and other absconders and was declared a proclaimed offender for providing shelter to terrorists.

Several hard-core criminals including Raees Mamma, Kashif David, Rehman Bhola, Hammad Siddiqui and Saeed alias Bharam had fled to Dubai, Malaysia and other countries during the Karachi operation to avoid arrest.

Raees Mamma is not the only high-profile suspect brought back from abroad. Earlier Lyari’s kingpin Uzair Baloch and several MQM’s notorious target killers including Hammad Siddiqui, Kashif David, Abdul Rehman alias Bhola have also been deported from UAE and Malaysia.

SSP Maher was unavailable for comments and, investigation officer of the case, inspector Amjad Yameen refused to comment, saying he was ordered by his superiors not to share any information with the media over Mamma’s investigation.

Mamma was produced before an anti-terrorism court on Tuesday which remanded him in police custody for 20 days.