Fear of police raid claims eight lives in Kandhkot

KANDHKOT: Three women and five children of a family drowned in the Indus River while attempting to flee a feared police raid on Monday by taking flight on a small boat. By late evening, two bodies were recovered by villagers, while search was on for the remaining bodies.

Kandhkot and Thull police raided Bhangwar village in the Gablo area near Kashmore in search of suspects involved in the murder of police constable Sohrab Noonari, who was killed in an attack on a police picket in the area on Thursday.

Police believed the murderers were residents of Bhangwar village, where a raid was conducted on Sunday but yielded nothing as male members of the community had fled the area. Rural areas on the banks of the river are popular hideouts for criminals, who are also said to attack police officials who penetrate the makeshift homes of villagers.

Fearing a raid on Monday, three women – Marvi, wife of Bashir Ahmed; Moomal; and Shehnaz, wife of Gulab – along with five children – Asif, son of Bashir Ahmed; Zahid and Maqsood, sons of Gulab; and Iqbal and Anwar – tried to flee the village for a safer place, as villagers believe police officials torture poor locals and detain them without reason. Some alleged that the police often take away valuables, including cash and animals, as well as humiliate women in such raids.

While initial reports suggested that the family had committed suicide, villagers were later informed that the boat had capsized while the family was crossing the river. The bodies of five-year-old Asif and seven-year-old Iqbal were recovered by villagers, while a search operation for the missing six people was under way.

“Police are responsible for this accident,” one villager Barkat Bhangwar alleged. He also said that families were seeking refuge in safer locations due to fear of continuous police raids and the ‘humiliating attitude’. He said the administration had not provided help to fish out the bodies, claiming that villagers and community members were desperately trying to search for the missing family members.

Another villager Niaz Bhangwar, who was involved in the search operation, told BBC Urdu that the police demolished homes in Imdad Bhangwar village consisting of 10 houses, using a ‘canon-like armoured personnel carrier’ in Sunday’s  raid.

“For fear of police and humiliation, the women took their children and fled towards the river, where they drowned,” he added. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Thull Asghar Shah denied the claims of continuous raids, and said that while a raid to arrest culprits was conducted on Sunday, there had been no such operation on Monday.

“According to initial investigations, the boat was in a poor condition and the number of passengers exceeded its capacity. As the water current was high, the boat lost balance and between five to eight people fell off,” Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Younis Chandio told BBC Urdu.

(WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM SARFRAZ MEMON AND BBC)

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2014.