Controversial raid: IG orders inquiry into police operation in Ghotki

Shikarpur police action left three dead, including minor boy

SUKKUR: The Sindh Inspector General, AD Khawaja, has ordered Sukkur DIG to conduct an inquiry into the controversial police raid in Ghotki last week that left three persons dead and five injured and submit a report within three days.

On March 19, a heavy contingent of Shikarpur police raided a house in Anwarabad Mohallah, Ghotki. During an exchange of fire, three persons, including a minor boy, were killed and five others, including two policemen, were injured. Police claimed the raid was conducted on a tip-off regarding the presence of Fazila Sarki, a girl kidnapped from Thull over eight years ago. However, police failed to recover Fazila as she was not present at the compound and instead took into custody several people residing in the house.

According to official sources, a heavy contingent of Shikarpur police led by SHOs of Khanpur and Lakhi Ghulam Shah police stations cordoned off Anwarabad Mohallah and tried to break into the house of Jan Mohammad Lolai, son of notorious dacoit Moso Lolai.



Sources claimed that during the raid, police officers contacted Moso who offered them a certain amount to let his son go but the police demanded more money, which led to a heated argument between the cops and Jan's guards.

During the argument, a Lolai tribesman reportedly tried to snatch a policeman's rifle which resulted in an exchange of fire that killed three people and injured five, the sources added. A Sukkur police official revealed that Khanpur SHO Ayub Dogar and Lakhi Ghulam Shah SHO Mumtaz Marwat of Shikarpur police carried out the operation without informing their SSP.  The official informed that an inquiry is under way to fix responsibility, saying statements of Lolai tribesmen and police officials are being recorded.

Meanwhile, following protests by Lolai tribesmen, police were forced to release all the persons arrested from Jan's house, along with the women and girls taken into custody after the operation.

An official of Ghotki police said the Shikarpur police did not inform their high-ups nor did they tell the relevant police station in Ghotki before launching the operation. He said they only informed the local police after the situation turned ugly.

Sukkur DIG Azhar Rasheed, despite repeated attempts, did not comment.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 23^rd,  2016.