Unending feuds: Ghoto family elder killed, tribe protests

Soomar Ghoto was shot inside his house and the suspects fled with the body.

SUKKUR: An elder of the Ghoto clan was shot dead inside his house in Soomar Ghoto village near Ghotki on Monday morning and the suspects fled with the body.

Several members of the Ghoto family staged a demonstration and sit-in on the National Highway near the Ghotki bypass on Monday evening.

They shouted slogans against the police for failing to find the victim’s body.

Soomar Ghoto was sleeping in his drawing room when a few unidentified men broke into his house and shot him dead. They took the body but left behind his shoes that were drenched in blood when the servants found them.

Ghotki DSP Gul Hassan Lohar reached the bypass with his team and negotiated with the protesters.

He assured them that the police would find the body soon and managed to disperse them. Lohar refused, however, to reveal any information when The Express Tribune tried to contact him.

Ghotki DPO Saqib Ismail Memon was also not available for comment.

The police were unable to find the body until the filing of this report.

Residents claimed that the murder resulted from a four-year-old enmity between the Ghotos and Chachars.

The rivalry began when a girl, belonging to the Chachar family, was kidnapped. So far, eight people have lost their lives in these tribal clashes.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 21^st, 2010.