Constable falls in bandit gunfight

HYDERABAD:

A police constable was shot dead during an exchange of fire between police and suspected bandits near Bachal Bridge in Sukkur on Wednesday night, with the assailants escaping and remaining at large.

The martyred constable, Amjad Ali Shaikh, was laid to rest on Thursday.

SSP Sukkur Ahmed Faisal Chaudhry told the media that police were trying to track down the suspects, whose identities had yet to be established. DIG Nasir Pathan said it was too early to share details of the investigation. At least three policemen have been killed in Sukkur over the past four months.

Meanwhile, relatives of 18-year-old Jamal Lakhan, who died after sustaining a critical gunshot wound in a police encounter, allegedly roughed up policemen at Civil Hospital Sukkur on Thursday.

Lakhan was succumbed to his injuries. His family alleged that police demanded millions of rupees in bribes to spare his life, but they could not arrange the money. The family later staged a sit-in outside the Sukkur Press Club, demanding the arrest of policemen involved in the encounter and registration of an FIR.

The protesters alleged that police had taken Lakhan and his brother Abdul Jabbar from their home in Rahujo village. They claimed the brothers had been detained nearly a week before the encounter over allegations of bike snatching, while police allegedly confirmed their arrests to the family three days later.

The protest ended after police assured the family that an FIR would be registered and the matter investigated impartially.