HYDERABAD: Police have claimed that four persons killed last week during a raid on a Sakrand village were in fact shot by their fellow villagers who opened fire at Rangers to kill them, it emerged on Tuesday.

On Sept 28, police and Rangers, along with officials of an intelligence agency, had raided the Mari Jalbani village in search of suspected militants of the outlawed Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army (SRA). Shots were fired when they faced stiff resistance from villagers, as a result of which four villagers were killed and many wounded.

While Rangers had already said that “three attackers” were killed in their retaliatory fire during the Sept 28 raid, the fresh claim by the police came in an FIR lodged on behalf of the state on the complaint of officer in charge of CIA Maqsood Raza Manganhar.

The FIR, which was lodged against residents of Mari Jalbani under relevant sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) a day after the raid, came to light when Advocate Sachal Maachi obtained its copy from an antiterrorism court on Monday.

FIR lodged by police states bullets fired by villagers killed four in Mari Jalbani; residents already filed murder case against unidentified law enforcers

The complainant did not identify the intelligence operatives by name in the FIR as he apparently mentioned them as ‘Alpha 1’ and ‘Alpha 2’.

He stated in the FIR that he was informed by his superiors that Alpha 1 and Alpha 2 would contact him for getting security for a raid. He stated that Alpha1 and Alpha 2 contacted him and demanded five police mobiles and a police contingent. He said that he informed the SSP-Benazirabad who allowed him to accompany them for just assistance.

He further stated that they, along with three mobiles of Rangers, left for the Mari Jalbani village to arrest Liaquat Jalbani who, according to Alpha 1 and Alpha 2, possessed explosives and was the facilitator of two activists of a banned organisation.

The complainant claimed that they reached the village and started searching Liaquat’s house under the supervision of Alpha1 and Alpha 2.

“Around 200-250 people gathered there under the leadership of Rajab, Hareef alias Doolaha who carried Kalashnikovs. Villagers also carried Kalashnikovs, iron roads, sticks and they surrounded the raiding party to cause obstruction in discharge of official duty,” he stated in the FIR.

He said while the police resorted to baton charge and managed to leave the area, the villagers had held “one each personnel of Alpha1 and Alpha 2 hostage”.

“When Rangers tried to get their colleagues freed, villagers including Ghulam Rasool, Morio, Munir and two unidentified persons “fired a burst of gunfire from the rooftop in order to terrorise and kill Rangers personnel. However, the bullets hit those present in the street and they fell on the ground”.

“Rangers personnel resorted to firing to disperse the mob and got their colleagues freed,” he stated in the FIR.

“Ghulam Rasool Jalbani, Morio Jalbani, Munir Jalbani and unidentified persons caused obstruction in discharge of official duties by Rangers and police as they fired on Rangers but bullets hit their own men,” he said.

The Mari Jalbani police lodged the FIR No 38/2023 under Sections 324 (attempted murder), 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 147 (rioting), 148(Rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (Every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) and 34 (common intention of the PPC read with Section 6/7 of the ATA.

A second FIR in the same case had also been lodged by a brother of one of the slain villagers against unidentified law enforcers under Sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 324 (attempted murder) of the PPC.

Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2023