Violent streak: 36 shops, cabins burnt in Badin riots

Keerio community stages sit-in in Lowari Sharif protesting killing of school headmaster

HYDERABAD: The killing of a school headmaster in Badin district on Thursday triggered a violent reaction in which around 36 shops and cabins were burnt.

The incident happened in rural town of Lowari Sharif, which is named after a shrine that has witnessed many clashes and litigation between its caretakers.

Muhammed Aslam Keerio, 40, an acting headmaster of a government primary school, was allegedly shot after an argument with a few people of the opponent group. He sustained three gunshots and was moved to Civil hospital from where he was referred to Karachi. He succumbed to his wounds on the way to Karachi.



The Keerio community staged a sit-in demonstration in Lowari Sharif but the protest soon turned violent.

Badin SSP Abrar Hussain Naekokara, who led large contingent of police and rangers to the town, told the local media that five suspects have been arrested. But, he neither disclosed their identities nor confirmed that the killer was also among those detained.

The FIRs of both the killing and vandalism have yet to be registered. The vendetta between the communities, that claim to be the 'rightful caretakers' of the shrine, has claimed dozens of lives over the last decades.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 18^th, 2015.