HYDERABAD:
The vicious tribal and communal hostilities on Monday claimed six more lives besides leaving half a dozen men and women injured. The incidents took place in Rustam, Shikarpur and Sujawal Junejo, Kambar-Shahdadkot.
Two groups of the Mahar caste allegedly exchanged fire in the river bed village of Aamil in Rustam. Rahib, Sarwar and Aitbar, all Mahar by caste, died in the firing while two men and four women sustained bullet injuries.
Aitbar belonged to the Ghaus Bux Gadani Mahar group while Rahib and Kalu were from the Kalu Mahar group. Locals told the police that due to firing between the two sides, the dead bodies were lying on the ground for two to three hours. The police later sent contingents to stop the clash and shift the dead to the Ghulam Shah taluka hospital.
Police also remained present during the Namaz-e-Janaza and the funeral to prevent a repeat of the bloodshed. However, no suspect was arrested nor could the police register an FIR by evening. The injured were shifted to Sukkur.
Separately, a brawl between two groups of the Jatoi caste in Sujawal Junejo left Hakim Jatoi and two passers-by, Zameer Tunio and 50-year-old Manzoor Korai, dead. Kambar-Shahdadkot police said the slain men were sitting in their guest house when gunmen on motorcycles sprayed bullets from automatic rifles at them.
Saeed Jatoi was seriously injured in the attack. The attackers made good their escape after the killings. The crime scene is near Ghulam Rasool Korai village along the highway. The bodies were shifted to Civil Hospital Meeru Khan for post-mortem. The FIR of the incident could not be registered before evening.
Meanwhile, Shikarpur police claimed to have killed a suspected bandit and injured two others in an encounter on Jaganh Link Road in the limits of New Faujdari police station. Police identified the slain suspect as Khanu Sundrani. The injured suspects fled the scene. There are also reports that Khanu was shot by bullets allegedly fired by his own accomplices.
