SHO killed, DSP injured in operation against dacoits in riverine areas

SSP says criminals used anti-aircraft guns, rocketpropelled grenades on police APCs

HYDERABAD:

A police official was martyred and two others besides a passerby man and a woman sustained gunshot injuries during the police operation against dacoits in a riverine forest in Kashmore-Kandhkot district on Monday.

SHO Jamal Abdul Latif Mirani died in the encounter with the robbers, while DSP Qalandar Bux Soomro and Constable Ishq Mirani were injured.

The injured citizens have been identified as Deen Muhammad and Mai Hajani.

SSP Irfan Samo talking to the media claimed that 11 to 12 dacoits were also killed in the operation, but police could not retrieve bodies of the slain outlaws due to heavy gunfire.

According to the SSP, three separate gangs of dacoits attacked a police party moving in armoured personnel carriers (APCs) in the limits of Durrani Mehar police station in Kandhkot.

Samo claimed that the outlaws used anti-aircraft guns and rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) during the exchange of fire.

The anti-aircraft battery of the dacoits had armourpiercing bullets that went through the thick body of APC vehicles.

DSP Soomro was the first to sustain a gunshot, police said.

He was moved out from the katcha area to the government hospital in Kandhkot from where he was referred to Sukkur district.

SHO Jamal Abdul Latif Mirani later sustained a fatal gunshot and died on the spot, while Constable Ishq Mirani was also injured.

The operation continued through the day but it was stopped in the evening.

A large number of citizens reached the hospital where the SHO’s body was brought.

They paid tribute to the police for taking action against the dacoits and sacrificing their lives in the action.

Many people were seen kissing the body of the martyred cop.

The SSP’s claim about killing 11 to 12 dacoits cannot be verified by the evening.

Neither the names of the slain suspects could be known nor the dacoits revealed any deaths.