UMERKOT, Dec 18: Over 2,000 people, including women and children, held a march on the streets of Umerkot in protest against police failure to arrest culprits of a criminal assault on a six-year-old girl in the city earlier this month. They appealed to the chief justice of Pakistan to take suo motu notice of the case as the culprits appeared to be related to some influential people.

The rally started from Moti Chowk and ended at the local press club.

The participants observed a sit-in at Allahwala Chowk and blocked the road for three hours to press the government to look into their grievance.

Leading the rally, Ali Akbar Rahimoo, Mir Hassan Arisar, Ali Nawaz Nizamani, Bansi Malhi, Gul Munir Walhari, Rasheeda Sand and Easer Meghwar, the uncle of the victim girl, expressed their grave concern over the police failure to arrest the culprits.

Rasheeda Sand told the audience that journalists covering protests against the assault were subjected to threats and thrashing by those protecting the culprits.

Easer Meghwar claimed that the victim was not provided proper treatment while medico-legal evidence was mixed up at the district hospitals in Umerkot and Mirpurkhas.

The protesters demanded that the culprits be exposed otherwise they would observe a boycott of Sindh Culture Day on Friday.