Land dispute: Fighting for his family, a man in search of justice

Says his clan was harassed by police in connivance with a landlord in Sindh.

ISLAMABAD:

Abdul Majeed Shar, 22, has more on his mind than tenth grade math theorems. He has been wandering the streets of the capital city trying to get justice for his family, who has allegedly been victimised by police and a landlord of Sindh’s Ghotki district.

“I was a student of matric a year ago when landlord Lal Khan Shar framed me and my family for false crimes and filed multiple cases against us. I was forced to drop out of school [and instead protect the family],” he said.

He explained that eight First Information Reports (FIRs) were lodged against him and 30 of his family members in different police stations of the district: two in Khanbhra Police Station, three in Ubaro Police Station and three in Dahari Police Station.

“Our joint family of 100 members was living in Fauji Ali Gul Shar village,” he said, adding that they are now forced to seek refuge under an open sky in a sugar cane field. “It’s freezing cold out there. The infants are also living in the open,” he added.



Abdul said his family and Lal had a land dispute some years back. Lal’s relatives wanted to purchase a 50-acre land for Rs40,000 per acre against the then market rate of Rs1,000,000 per acre. “We refused the deal but Lal did not give up.”

He added that the landlord got Ubaro Deputy Superintendant of Police (DSP) Niaz Ahmed Chandio to pressurise his family into giving in. “They threatened us of dire consequences if we did not accept the deal,” Abdul said.

Later, he said, the police raided several houses in his village and tortured the residents. The police also torched houses, making away with eight buffaloes, 25 goats, 300 mounds of wheat, 350 mounds of rice and 37 mounds of cotton — a total value of about Rs2 million. “The police also took the gold ornaments worth about Rs500,000 that we had purchased for the marriage of my three sisters,” Abdul said.

“Lal’s family accused mine of barring the police from performing their duties. In fact, it is his family members who are wanted in kidnapping, murder and robbery cases by Kot Sazal police station in Punjab,” he added, appealing for justice.

DSP Chandio said that Abdul’s family was wanted in kidnapping cases. Moreover, the station house officer of the same police said that the alleged victim’s family did not fall in his jurisdiction of police station.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 21^st, 2013.