Protesters demand justice for slain Hindu man and son

Jaipal Das and his son Ganaish were shot dead by robbers Thursday night

KARACHI: Scores of people participated in a protest on Sunday at the Karachi Press Club against the murders of a Hindu shopkeeper and his son in Hub.

Jaipal Das ran a small mobile phone shop near a cement factory around 30 kilometres away from his home in Hub. On Thursday night when he was returning home with his eldest son, Ganaish, he was intercepted by robbers.

"It has been reported that the duo resisted the robbery and were shot dead," said a Supreme Court advocate, Mukesh Kumar Karara, who took part in the protest. He added that according to some residents of the area, the two men identified the robbers, due to which they were gunned down.



The deceased belonged to an impoverished family, Karara said. "They were the sole bread earners of their family," he maintained, adding that the protest had been staged to express condolences and solidarity with the bereaved family.

The protest was organised by an unregistered association, the Hindu Notables of Pakistan. "This is a social media group," the lawyer explained. The protesters called for legal and moral support to the family. Das's seven-year-old son Jarachand was also present at the protest. He demanded that his father and brother's murderers be hanged.



The lawyer lamented that no official of the Balochistan government contacted the family. "The family should at least be compensated," he said, adding that there were reports that Adviser to the Balochistan Chief Minister Ganesh  Kumar had taken notice of the incident and might contact the family soon.



Gubuksh  Rajpal, another protester, requested Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar to take notice of the plight of Hindus living in the country. "We aim to continue the protests if the family isn't provided  justice," he said, adding that the Hindu community was playing its part for the country's development and it should all be given protection  by the law enforcement agencies.

Similar protests were also simultaneously held in Nawabshah, Sukkur, Hyderabad and Ghotki.