Demanding justice: Villagers protest killing of man by law enforcers

Mumtaz Junejo was shot while two others were injured in an operation in Mandhra village

SUKKUR: Scores of villagers staged a sit-in on the Mohenjo Daro-Dokri road on Friday night, to protest against the killing of a man by the Rangers in Mandhra village near Badah district in Larkana.

According to sources, a heavy contingent of Rangers raided and cordoned off the village in the limits of Airport police station, Larkana, early on Friday morning. When the villagers offered resistance during a door-to-door search, the Rangers allegedly opened fire, injuring Mumtaz Junejo, Gulzar Machi and Ghulam Ali alias Mirch Junejo. Mumtaz later succumbed to his injuries in Chandka Medical College Hospital, Larkana. The law enforcers also arrested five people identified as the injured Gulzar and Ghulam, as well as Murtaza Machi, Nasrullah alias Nasroo Junejo and Asif Junejo.



The postmortem of the deceased was carried out at Badah hospital, after which the body was handed over to the family. After receiving the body, the villagers, led by Arbab Khatoon, Porhi Khatoon and Shamul Khatoon, took it to the Mohenjo Daro-Dokri road, blocking traffic and shouting slogans against the Rangers.

Talking to the media, the protestors claimed that the Rangers raided their village without justification and opened fire, killing a man and injuring two others. They alleged that the law enforcers also arrested five innocent villagers and demanded that justice should be provided to them.

According to sources, Mumtaz was involved in tribal feuds with another group of the Junejo tribe as well as Kalhoro and Khokhar tribesmen, with all parties implicating each other in fake cases. However, there was no case registered against him for crimes such as kidnapping for ransom, murder or highway robbery. Sources further claimed that the Rangers had presented the detained men to the media in Larkana, but the media was not allowed to question them. The Rangers also displayed weapons seized from the villagers.

Meanwhile, Rangers public relations officer Major Sibtain Rizvi confirmed the incident to The Express Tribune, claiming that they were carrying out a series of targeted raids on criminal hideout in Mandhra village when the villagers opened fire on them, leading them to retaliate. Rangers officials added that they had arrested five criminals while another criminal died during the treatment of his injuries. A Ranger also reportedly sustained bullet injuries. The weapons allegedly confiscated from the villagers included submachine guns and rifles.

When contacted, Dokri DSP Mushtaq Qureshi said that the Rangers had conducted the operation without informing the police. “We were unaware of the incident and only found out about it through the media,” he said. “Some cases were registered against Mumtaz and others at Dokri and Badah police stations, but I don’t know whether they were for tribal feuds or other crimes, since I have only recently been posted here.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 1^st, 2014.