Land dispute devours seven lives

Seven people were killed and 10 others sustained injuries in a deadly clash between two groups of Dahri community over a land dispute in a village in the Benazirabad district of Sindh on Sunday, police and witnesses said.

The clash over agricultural land dispute in Wahid Bux Dahri village – in the jurisdiction of the Pabjo police station near Shahpur Jahania – started in the morning when one of the groups started thrasher machine in the wheat field. Police said that six of the dead belonged to one group and one another.

The Pabjo police said that 50 acres of land, on which the clash occurred, reportedly owned by one Abdul Ghani Dahri, who had leased it out for three years. However, some local influential persons opposed the deal, they added.

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According to the preliminary police investigation, those men tried to stop the other side from applying thrashed in the field, sparking the clash. The deceased were identified as Muhammad Hanif, Ghulam Qadir, Ghulam Hussain, Dilsher, Ghulam Rasool, Shabbir and Gul Muhammad, all Dahri by caste.

The bodies remained on the ground for over two hours until the police reached the spot and brought the situation under control. Three of the bodies were found lying in a ditch and three others in the wheat field. They were later shifted to the government hospital in Shahpur Jahania.

The injured were moved to the Peoples Medical University Hospital in Nawabshah. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Benazirabad Tanveer Hussain Tunio reached the village and interacted with the families of the slain and injured men. Till Sunday evening, no police case was lodged.

Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar spoke to the SSP and asked him to submit a report of the incident. He also directed the SSP to ensure that all the culprits were arrested and the law and order was restored in the village.