Five cops martyred in operation against dacoits

SSP says robbers outnumbered, outgunned police party in far-flung area

HYDERABAD:

The picket of a police team preparing to launch an operation against a gang of dacoits hiding in the forest to recover three kidnapped persons was attacked in Ghotki district late on Saturday night, leaving five cops killed and four injured.

Sukkur DIG Javed Jiskani confirmed the incident telling that the police team’s camp was attacked in Ranoti area in the dried riverbed of Indus River in Ubauro town.

DSP Abdul Malik Bhutto, SHO Deen Muhammad Laghari, SHO Abdul Malik Kamangar and constables Jatoi Pitafi and Saleem Chachar embraced martyrdom in the attack.

Their bodies were recovered four to five hours later from the captivity of the dacoits who attacked the police with rocket launchers and automatic rifles.

The SHO Ranoti police station Ghulam Ali Brohi and constables Mumtaz Soomro, Aftab Bhutto and Muharram Ali Brohi sustained gunshot injuries and were shifted to a government hospital in Sukkur district.

Police sources point out that the killings of the cops are likely a reaction of the killing of the notorious dacoit Sultan alias Sultu Shar last month.

Shar’s brother Soomar Shar in a social media message had warned of revenge from Ghotki district’s police saying that his brother was killed while attending an invitation to a dinner.

Sukkur DIG informed the media that a police post was set up near the residence of one of the uncles of Shar. He also named Soomar for masterminding the assault.

SSP Ghotki Tanveer Hussain Tunio told the media that the gang had kidnapped three persons including two children of Panhwar community last week. The police, he added, were conducting an operation in the area to recover the abducted persons.

According to him, the dacoits fired at least 25 rocket launchers besides heavy gunfire. Police believe that there were more than 100d attackers.

“The dacoits outnumbered and outgunned the police in the far-flung area.”

SSP Tunio said some parts of Ghotki, Kashmore and Rahimyar Khan districts have become safe heavens of dacoits.

The SSP hinted that the help of Pakistan army may be sought to uproot those criminal gangs from those three districts.

Meanwhile, Namaz-e-Janaza of the martyred policemen was offered in Mirpur Mathelo town of Ghotki.

The top police officers of the region and the lawmakers and a large number of the local people attended the funeral and burial.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari strongly condemned the attack on the police by the criminals in the Kacha area of the Ghotki district.

In a statement issued from the Media Cell Bilawal House on Sunday, the PPP chairman expressed deep grief and sorrow over the martyrdom of five police officials in the incident.

“I salute the officials who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty,” he said.

The foreign minister also prayed for the speedy recovery of SHO Ghulam Ali Brohi and other officials who were injured in the attack.

The PPP co-chairman and former president Asif Ali Zardari also condemned the attack. Zardari said that the criminals who attacked the police camp deserved severe punishment. He said that the sacrifices of Sindh police officers and men are unforgettable.

Various political, religious and nationalist parties have also condemned the brutal killings of the policemen in Ghotki and they have demanded immediate action against the outlaws.