45 men booked for holding jirga

Ghotki police register FIR against 45 people on the charges of holding a jirga.

SUKKUR: The Ghotki police on Monday registered an FIR against 45 people on the charges of holding a jirga to settle differences between the police and the Bozdar community.

The jirga, which was presided over by Sardar Ali Gohar Mahar in Khangarh on Sunday, aimed to resolve a dispute that arose between the Bozdar community and the police after the latter allegedly killed a man, identified as Sanjar Bozdar, in a “fake” encounter near Mirpur Mathelo on June 18, 2010.

After killing him, the police lodged an FIR against him and his five “accomplices”, including Sanjar’s brother, Achar Bozdar, as well as a man named Haji Bozdar.  The police claimed that Sanjar was a “hardened criminal” and was wanted by the police in “22 cases of heinous crimes” including murder and kidnapping-for-ransom.

On June 24, Nawazi Bozdar, the sister of the deceased, filed an application at the district and sessions court, Ghotki, stating that her brother had been a law-abiding citizen and was killed in a fake encounter by a police team, including Mirpur Mathelo SPO Imtiaz Domki, Mirpur Mathelo SHO Ghulam Muez Dasti, Khanpur SHO Mahar Akbar Pathan and Jarwar police check post incharge ASI Manzoor Jhatyal.

Hearing this, the court ordered that an FIR be registered against the accused policemen.

In the last week of September, Achar Bozdar, Haji Bozdar and their “accomplices” allegedly attacked the Jarwar police check post and injured Jhatyal.

At Sunday’s jirga, Mahar resolved the dispute by asking the police to pay Rs400,000 as compensation for killing Sanjar Bozdar in a fake encounter, while Achar Bozdar and Haji Bozdar were ordered to pay Jhatyal a sum of Rs200,000. After Jhatyal paid the Bozdar community the difference of Rs200,000 on the spot, the dispute was resolved.

However, Ghotki DPO Saqib Ismail Memon directed the Ghotki SP Investigations to probe into the matter and submit a report within 24 hours. On Monday, after the inquiry report was submitted, the Khanpur Mahar police lodged an FIR against 45 people, including Sardar Ali Gohar Mahar, MPA Sardar Rahim Bux Bozdar and others, under sections 118, 143 and 120-b of the Pakistan Penal Code. However, no one was arrested.

DPO Memon told The Express Tribune that Sardar Ali Gohar Mahar and MPA Sardar Rahim Bux Bozdar have been granted bail-before-arrest by the Sindh High Court’s Sukkur bench. He added that the police have formed teams to conduct raids and find the remaining 43 people who have “gone underground”.

However, according to MPA Sardar Rahim Bux Bozdar, no jirga of any kind took place on Sunday. He said that the case filed against him was political in nature and was not related to jirgas of any kind.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 26^th, 2010.