The Sindh High Court (SHC) has instructed the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Shaheed Benazirabad police to oversee the ongoing investigation into the killing of four villagers during a law enforcement raid in Sakrand.
The court has set December 1 as the deadline for the submission of the investigation report.
Headed by Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto, the two-judge bench also directed the inquiry committee established by the Sindh government to present its findings at the next hearing.
In the previous court session, the SHC had instructed the in Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Shaheed Benazirabad to produce both the complainants from the First Information Reports (FIRs) and the legal heirs of the deceased villagers.
SSP Haider Raza appeared at the hearing and submitted a report indicating that notices had been served to one of the complainants, Rajab Ali.
However, Ali failed to appear before the SHC, prompting the bench to reissue notices and instruct the SSP to ensure the presence of the complainant and legal heirs in the next hearing.
Representing the petitioners, Advocate Syed Haider Imam Rizvi submitted that a fair investigation was not being conducted in the cases.
The bench in its order said, “After hearing learned counsel for the parties, DIGP, Shaheed Benazirabad, is directed to supervise further investigation of the cases/FIRs mentioned in this petition and report shall be submitted before the trial court as well as before this court on the next date of hearing. Enquiry committee, constituted by the government of Sindh, shall also submit the report on the next date of hearing”.
At the previous hearing, the SHC was also informed that the Sindh government had notified compensation for the legal heirs/families of victims.
Tahmasp Rasheed Razvi and two other lawyers had petitioned the SHC and submitted that in order to harass the villagers and save their own skin, the law enforcement agencies had lodged two FIRs in violation of the apex court’s judgment.
The Case
The operation carried out by law enforcement agencies on September 9 aimed to apprehend militants associated with the banned Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army (SUA).
In the course of the operation, four individuals were killed, and nine others, including four Rangers personnel, sustained injuries.
A Rangers spokesman released a statement mentioning that the operation was intelligence-based and targeted high-value individuals.
However, Sindh United Party (SUP) Secretary General Roshan Burriro claimed that those killed were supporters and revealed that a confrontation had ensued between security forces and villagers.
The situation escalated when law enforcement officers opened fire, resulting in tragic deaths and injuries.
Subsequently, grieving villagers staged a protest and blocked a section of the National Highway while carrying the coffins of the deceased individuals.
Protests by the families and relatives of the deceased villagers came to an end after the initiation of the judicial inquiry and the registration of a First Information Report (FIR).
The FIR was filed under Sections 302 (intentional murder) and 324 (murder attempt) of the Pakistan Penal Code based on the complaint of Rahib Jalbani, the brother of one of the deceased individuals.
According to the FIR, the security officials arrived at a house in the village and accused those present of being terrorists before opening fire. The complainant’s brother and another individual died on the spot, while several others were injured.
SUP President Syed Zain Shah clarified that the deceased villagers were not politically affiliated.
