Establishing the writ of law: Police baton charge female protesters to clear highway

Sit-in staged due to clash between two tribes in which a woman was injured

SUKKUR: Ghotki police baton charged female protesters on the National Highway near the Mirpur Mathelo Bypass to clear the highway Sunday night. Police also arrested many women, who were later released.

An armed clash took place between the Chijan and Bozdar tribesmen over the ownership of a house in Channa Muhalla, Mirpur Mathelo. During the scuffle, persons of both tribes used wooden sticks and pieces of rocks to attack one another. As a result, Sughra, wife of Ghulam Mustafa Chijan, was injured, causing the assailants to flee.

Later, scores of women belonging to the locality, along with the injured woman, staged a protest demonstration on the National Highway near the Mirpur Mathelo Bypass, due to which traffic was suspended.

Mirpur Mathelo police rushed to the scene and, instead of talking to the protesters, resorted to baton charging them and arrested some women who were taken to the police station and later released.

Sughra's husband told the media that sometime ago his cousin, Hameed Chijan, sold a portion of their joint property to a man, Aziz Bozdar. According to Ghulam, he objected to this deal, but his cousin did not bother to listen and shifted to some other place after selling the portion to Bozdar.

On Sunday, when Ghulam was not at home, Bozdar went to the house, along with his family, and a heated argument took place between them. Ghulam alleged that after the argument, Bozdar and his accomplices attacked his [Ghulam's] wife and other women in the house, fleeing the scene after Sughra was injured.

Mirpur Mathelo police were bribed by Bozdar and therefore, they are not ready to lodge our complaint, claimed Ghulam.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 29^th, 2016.