Drowning case unresolved: With only two bodies found, action against police yet to be taken

Gublo police on DIGP’s directives registered an FIR against Kashmore police for negligence.

SUKKUR: Only two bodies have been fished out so far of the eight bodies that drowned on Monday morning. The Kashmore police have failed to take action against the negligence of their colleagues, despite the fact that a case was registered against them at Gublo police station on Tuesday.

Earlier, three women and five children in a boat were crossing the river to evade police raid when the boat overturned and all the occupants fell into the river and drowned. They were identified as Mai Marvi, wife of Bashir Ahmed Bhangwar, Shahnaz, Momal, Asif, Iqbal, Zahid, Maqsood and Anwar. The villagers managed to take out the bodies of Asif and Iqbal after three hours, but the remaining bodies have yet to be found. Gublo police on the directives of the Larkana DIGP registered an FIR under Sections 302, 201 and 427 of Pakistan Penal Code against sub inspector Arbelo Bhangwar of  A section police station, Thull, and sub inspector Roshan Mazari of  B section police station, Thull, and police constables Nazir Ahmed Bhangwar, Abdul Razzaq and Bangul khan and ten other unidentified persons. Head constable Gublo police station Kashmore Ghulam Yasin talking to The Express Tribune confirmed that an FIR was registered against the policemen and that no arrest were made.



The divers of the Pakistan Navy have been summoned from Sukkur to aid the villagers in fishing out the remaining bodies, but no success was reported till the filing of this report.

On Tuesday, scores of Jeay Sindh Mahaz activists led by its chairperson Riaz Chandio staged a protest demonstration at Indus highway near Kandhkot against the atrocities of the police. Strongly condemning the negative attitude of the police, he termed them responsible for the drowning of eight women and children. He warned of widespread protests throughout the province, if action was not taken against the responsible policemen.

On last Thursday, a police constable of Thull police station Sohrab Noonari was shot dead by unknown men and according to the police, the culprits had taken shelter in Imdad Bhangwar village, the katcha area of Gublo police station. The police raided the area on Sunday, but all the male members had left the village ahead of the raid. The police allegedly had bulldozed some of the houses. Fearing another raid by the police, three women along with their five children reportedly tried to cross the river to a safer place, but their boat overturned and they drowned.

DIG Larkana Khadim Rind was unavailable to give his comments.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16^th, 2014.