Daily Times

MITHI: Widespread protest was registered in different towns of Tharparkar district against the failure of Thar police to arrest the killers of Dodo Bheel and the subsequent brutal torture on the protesters and journalists by police under the supervision of SSP.

People from different walks of life staged the demonstrations in various towns again on Monday to register their protest against the unabated police atrocities of the police both against protesting relatives of the victim and journalists, who went to cover the demonstrations staged by BIF and other parties in Islamkot town late Sunday night.

During the shelling and baton charge as many as eight journalists including Imtiaz Dharani, Jhaman Misrani, Sadiq Bajeer, Junaid Azd, Ghazi Bajeer, Sudheer Rathore, Sadiq Bajeerand others sustained injuries.

Mr Krishan Sharma, Subhan Samaj, Advocate Shahnawaz Hingorjo, Kishore Jagani, Parshtam Soorani and other leaders of PTI and other parties addressing the press conference in Mithi said that Thar police under the supervision of SSP Hassan Sardar Niazi had crossed all the limits of brutalities and atrocities and condemned the baton charge on protesters and journalists.

They said that the police failed to arrest the killers of the laborer Dodo Bheel, registered the FIR against as many as 150 protesters under Anti-Terrorist Act and other charges.

They said that the police after registering the case arrested as many as 50 people including the close relatives of the victim and the leader of PTI Lajpat Soorani.

They said that police during the raids violated the sanctity of the privacy of the peaceful people and dragged women and children who came to rescue their relatives during ruthless police operations on them.

They said that though PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari took notice of the murder and subsequent incidents but no justice is expected when incumbent SSP was handling the affairs in the district.

They said that PPP lawmakers and leaders after deceiving the protesting relatives of Mr Bheel were nowhere to be seen had left the poor people of the Bheel community at the mercy of the unbridled police officials.

They welcomed the order of the Chief Justice of Sindh High Court who took notice and summoned the GIG Mirpurkhas and SSP Thar before him on July 13 to clarify their positions on the murder of Mr Bheel.

While, journalists in Mithi, Diplo, Islamkot, Nagarparkar, and other towns of the district took out rallies and staged demonstrations to condemn the police torture on their fellows in Islamkot.

The leaders of the protesting journalists demanded an impartial inquiry into the brutal torture of the journalists and the removal of Mr Niazi as soon as possible.

They said policemen on the orders of Mr Niazi had not only baton charged their fellows but also broke their cameras and mobile sets adding that some policemen also took away their precious mobile sets and cameras.

They announced a boycott to the activities of the government officials till justice was done with them.

Dr Qadir Magsi, Advocate Wasand Thari, Nawaz Shah Bhadai, Qadir Ranto, and other leaders of Sindh Action Committee, also visited to Islamkot town to show their solidarity and sympathies with family members of Dodo Bheel, arrested Tharis and the victimized and tortured journalists.

The leaders of the committee speaking to a large number of the enraged protesting people in Islamkt town held SPP  Tharparkar, Hassan Sardar Niazi and the officials of Sindh Engro Coal Mining company were responsible for the murder of the poor workers and let the accused escape after committing the heinous crime.

They said that Mr Niazi played a crucial role in letting the officials go without being arrested and demanded his removal from the district.

They said that SSP Thar diluted the matter on late Saturday showed the arrest of eight more workers of the security company of the mining firms, who according to them had nothing to with the incessant torture on Dodo Bheel, who was kept in the torture cell of the mining company for 14 days and was brutally tortured to death on the charges of the theft from the premises of Block 2.

The leaders condemned the arrest of poor workers and said that it was a ploy by SSP to hoodwink the heirs of the victim.

The Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah after the strong notice taken by PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Monday, formed a three-member ministerial minister to probe the matter and report him as soon as possible.

Sardar Ali Shah, Imtiaz Ahmed Sheikh and Nawab Taimour Talpur were made the members of the committee.

According to the officials, the ministers would berth with the family members of Dodo, the officials SECMC, SSP, DC Thar and journalists of Mithi and Islamkot.

SSP Tharparkar Mr Hassan Sardar Niazi in a press statement expressed his deep anger and concerns over the brutal torture on the journalists and said that he was extremely sorry for such acts by policemen they were trying to disperse miscreants, who according to him, had set two police bikes on fire and tried to damage other vehicles during their ‘violent protest.

He claimed that against the leaders of Bheel Intellectual Forum and PTI leaders was registered after they had threatened to besiege the offices of Thar Coalfields which according to him fell within projects of China Pakistan Economic Corridor.

He said that he had all sympathies for the family members of Dodo Bheel.

He added that nobody would be allowed to take law into their hands near the sensitive government installations.