15 booked in Kot Diji murders case

Two separate cases registered over murder of five men

SUKKUR: Kot Diji police have arrested more than two dozen suspects, including women, from different Lashari villages on their alleged involvement in killing five people on Saturday morning. Two separate cases were registered against the suspects arrested Saturday night.

Armed men had attacked the Bakhoo Lashari village, killing four people including a minor. In retaliation, tribesmen went to the Mithan Lashari village and opened fire at the people, killing one man.

On the complaint of Dilawar Lashari from the Bakhoo Lashari village, the police have registered a case against nine men, including Ali Hassan Lashari, Loung Lashari, Bhutto Lashari, Banhoo Lashari, Qasim Lashari, Ghulam Nabi Lashari, Mithal Lashari, Ismail Lashari and Zameer Lashari.Another FIR was lodged at Kot Diji police station on the complaint of Zahid Hussain from the Mithan Lashari village against six suspects: Photto Lashari, Ghulam Abbas Lashari, Abbas Dino Lashari, Miroo Lashari, Shadoo Lashari and Gogo Lashari. Late night, police contingents launched a house-to-house search in several villages, including Bakhoo Lashari, Mithan Lashari and Fateh Ali Lashari.

The police reportedly took into custody women and cattle head to pressure the assailants to surrender, and also bulldozed some houses. Policemen have been deployed and pickets established at the troubled villages to prevent further bloodshed. Kot Diji SHO Khamiso Khan Janwri denied arresting women or taking away cattle. The police only arrested some suspects including the ones who were booked. “When police raided the villages, most of the men had escaped leaving behind women and children,” he said.

The dispute had erupted three years ago, when Ali Hassan from Mithan Lashari village and Pappi from Bakhoo Lashari village eloped and married of their free will, sources told The Express Tribune. Before the dispute was resolved amicably through a jirga one year ago, three people from each group had been shot dead in clashes.

Both the groups, however, accepted the jirga verdict, paying fines and withdrawing cases against each other. The jirga had also decided that the woman will be returned to her parents, but she did not come back.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 20^th, 2012.