Murder mystery: Probe finds 14 policmen guilty in alleged encounter

Four alleged robbers from Shoro community were killed in June.

HYDERABAD:

Fourteen police officers, including two deputy superintendents, have been implicated in the investigation of an alleged encounter in which four people were killed in Jamshoro.

The report was prepared by an investigation team led by Thatta SSP Usman Ghani Siddiqui, and was tasked to look into the deaths of four people from the Shoro community. It was passed on to the Hyderabad Region DIG Sanaullah Abbasi on Thursday for its submission to the court.

Jamshoro DSP Abdul Ghafoor Lakho, Nooriabad DSP Manzoor Pahorh, Jamshoro SHO Saeed Channa and ASI Muhammad Ali Soomro are among those named in the report.

The incident took place on Super Highway near a police post on June 17. Sindh Chief Minister had ordered a separate judicial and police inquiry.

“We will present three separate cases [challan] against the policemen and Shoros in the district and session court Jamshoro on July 7,” SSP Siddiqui said. But according to the officer, the police will be unable to produce the officers in court.

According to the report, the four victims were reportedly involved in the robbery of a truck on the highway. However, only one of them was killed in an armed fight with the police. The report states that the police captured three men alive, took them to a hill and shot them dead. The deceased were identified as Rajab Shoro, Irfan Shoro, Nawaz Shoro and Ghulam Shoro, all residents of village Dabu Shoro in Kotri tehsil.

Deedar Shoro, the community chief, denied that the men were stealing from the truck and had opened fire on the police. However, he said they would accept this if it was established by the judicial inquiry.

The police claimed the Shoros were robbing a 10-wheeler truck carrying chickpea bags and shifting the bags to their truck on the highway.

“As soon as our mobile approached, the dacoits opened fire and then fled in their truck,” DSP Lakho had told a press conference held at that time. “But, the truck overturned and they started to flee while firing shots on the police.”

They were killed when the police returned fire as five others accompanying them fled. Nine people – including the dead suspects - were later nominated in the First Information Report (FIR) of the robbery, which was lodged on the complaint of truck driver Muhammad Ameen.

However, the Shoro community says that the police stopped the men at the highway post when they were returning from Karachi after selling mangoes in the New Sabzi Mandi.

The episode triggered violent protests by the Shoro community who dominate the Kotri and Jamshoro tehsils of the district and also have an elected MPA from their ranks. They forced the markets to shut down and blocked Super Highway for several hours. The protests led the police to register an FIR against the 14 policemen based on the complaint of Munir Shoro, who was among the five who escaped the alleged encounter.

SSP Jamshoro Farukh Bashir told The Express Tribune that all the nominated policemen have escaped from Jamshoro. “Most of them belong to other districts and were here on posting. They will be arrested if they are found anywhere,” he said, confirming that the officers did not obtain bail after an FIR was registered against them. According to him, they have been suspended and their salary accounts have been frozen.

Additional District and Session Judge Jamshoro Khalid Hussain Shahani, who is carrying out the judicial inquiry, inspected the site of the incident on Thursday. He also recorded the statements of the relevant police officers and people of the Shoro community.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 7^th, 2012.