Umerkot shuts down to protest 3 murders

HYDERABAD: Umerkot shut down on Tuesday to protest the murder of three people allegedly by a landlord and his armed guards near the district.

The men forced entry to a house in Din Muhammad Chang village and demanded payment for the harvest. A fight ensued and they opened indiscriminate fire inside the house, killing a man and injuring three women.

Harchand Odh died on the spot while Raj Bai, Talchan and Phooli were taken to Civil hospital, Hyderabad. Talchan died there.

The same group of armed men also shot and injured a man, Lono Bheel, who was sitting in a rickshaw near a bus stand. Bheel succumbed to his injuries on his way to hospital.

Residents of Umerkot, including members of the Odh and Bheel tribes, took to the streets to protest the brazen murders.

All shops in the district closed down while Talchan’s family took her body to the Hyderabad Press Club to stage a demonstration and demand justice from the authorities.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 7^th, 2010.