22 booked for killing two police officials in Shikarpur

GDA general secretary questions how bullets pierced through the bulletproof APC

HYDERABAD: As the bandits who killed and injured policemen during an operation in Shikarpur district's kaccha remain at large, the district's police has registered an FIR nominating 22 suspects in the case. The FIR was registered late on Sunday night at Bachal Bhayo Police Station, in whose jurisdiction the site falls.

The FIR has been registered on the police complaint under sections 6 and 7 of Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), besides containing sections 302, 324, 353, 148, 149 and 427 of the Pakistan Penal Code. According to the FIR, the police raided the area after they received a tip-off regarding the presence of some murder suspects in village Samano Kanrani.

"The police party asked the bandits to surrender but they instead opened salvos of firing on the police," the FIR reads. Two police personnel were killed and five persons, including three policemen, were injured in the incident.

SSP Shikarpur Sajid Ameer Sadozai told the media that the martyred policemen, Lakhi Ghulam Shah police station's SHO Ghulam Murtaza Mirani and Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Zulfikar Ali Panhwar, were sitting in an armoured personnel carrier (APC) when they were hit by the bullets. The same is also mentioned in the FIR.

According to the police, the bandits fired shells from anti-aircraft guns, three of which pierced through the APC fatally injuring Mirani and Panhwar. The firing continued for around 30 minutes and later the bandits escaped into the forest, the FIR states.

Police have nominated Noor Ahmed Khan, Nasru Kandrani, Yaseen Bhayo, Hafeez, Tehseen Bhayo, Ghulam Mustafa, Ramzan, Rahib and Waheed Bhayo, among others, in the FIR. However, none of the accused could be arrested even after two days of the incident.

Meanwhile, Grand Democratic Alliance's (GDA) General Secretary Ayaz Latif Palijo has demanded a probe to ascertain how the bullets pierced through the APC. In a statement on Monday, Palijo said Mirani and Panhwar received gunshots inside the APC.

"How can the bullets pierce through the bulletproof APC?" he questioned. Palijo implied corruption in the procurement of the APCs by the Pakistan Peoples Party's Sindh government. He asked the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and other law enforcement agencies to conduct a thorough inquiry to check the standards of Sindh Police's weapons, vehicles, APVs, CCTV cameras and other equipment.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 4^th, 2019.