Heirs of Machar Colony lynching victims to get Rs5 million

The Sindh government has approved Rs5 million compensation for the heirs of each of the two Machhar Colony lynching victims.

IG Police Ghulam Nabi Memon briefing the cabinet on the incident of Machhar Colony said that two persons, Aimen Javed of Thatta and Ishaq Maher of Naushehro Feroze were killed by a mob at Machhar Colony. The deceased persons had gone there to check the signals of the mobile tower, but the residents suspected them as the abductors of the children and killed them.

The cabinet was told that 15 people identified in the CCTV footage have been arrested. An investigation has been initiated and the culprits would be brought to book.

The chief minister said that such incidents could not be ignored, and the killers have to face the law. He added that the incident of the Machhar Colony and others in which the mob killed the culprits or considered to be the culprits was a question mark on the performance of police. Therefore we have to review the laws to discourage the mob justice system and the police have to develop public confidence in them.

Meanwhile, the cabinet approved Rs5 million compensation for each of the Machhar Colony victims and formed a cabinet committee comprising Imtiaz Shaikh, Murtaza Wahab, Sadiq Memon, IG Police, and Home Secretary to discuss the issue and give its recommendations.

Creation of a Mob Management Police Force was also recommended to handle such cases. The force would be imparted relevant training and would be equipped with the required gears.

The cabinet also discussed the proposal for the construction of 1.8 million damaged houses and directed the CEO of the newly established housing company, Khalid Shaikh to firm up the final proposal for the houses, and their design in light of climate change and mode of construction so that it could be approved to start the work.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 1^st, 2022.