SUKKUR: A gang of heavily armed dacoits opened an indiscriminate fire on a mini-truck at the Naparkot section of the Indus Highway in Shikarpur district on Sunday morning killing three men and wounding another one. They kidnapped two other survivors of the attack, the area police said.

According to the police, the truck carrying six persons — all said to be belonging to the Bugti tribe — was signaled by the gang of dacoits to stop but sensing danger, the driver tried to speed away. The dacoits opened fire killing the driver, cleaner and one of the other occupants of the mini-truck, they said, adding that another person riding it was seriously wounded in firing.

The dacoits left the bodies and wounded person at the site and took away two unhurt occupants of the truck at gun point.

“We rushed to the scene upon receiving the information and chased the dacoits but they managed to escape into the gang-infested riverine area of Shikarpur,” officials at the Naparkot police station said.

Protesters block highway; several hundred vehicles remain stuck for hours

The police transported the bodies and the wounded victim to the Shikarpur Civil Hospital, where the deceased persons were identified as Ali Khan, Ghulam Bahadur, and Abdul Wahid, and the wounded victim as Atta Mohammad.

The latter was provided emergency treatment and referred to a major hospital in some other district due to his precarious condition.

The police identified the two persons kidnapped by the attackers as Mohammad Hussain and Ahmed Hussain. “The Bugti tribesmen were on their way to Kandhkot after starting their journey from Dera Ismail Khan,” the police said.

The bodies were handed over to the heirs after a post-mortem examination at the Shikarpur Civil Hospital.

Highway blocked by mourners

Soon after the incident, scores of victims’ relatives arrived at the crime scene and held a protest demonstration by blocking the Naparkot section of the highway with burning tyres and junk. Several hundred public and private vehicles remained stuck on both tracks of the highway for several hours. The protesters kept raising slogans for immediate arrest of the attackers and recovery of the kidnapped persons. They condemned police for failing to stop gangs from killing and kidnapping citizens.

Police officers and personnel tried to hold negotiations with the angry protesters on clearing the highway but they refused to listen to them until the outlaws were apprehended and kidnapped men were recovered.

Petrol pump cashier abducted

In Kandhkot, a gang of armed dacoits on Sunday struck a petrol pump at Qambrani Laro along the Indus Highway to loot its cashier, and shot a man who put up resistance. Officials at the B-Section police station of Kandhkot said that Abid Qamrani, believed to be manager of the fuel station, was shot and wounded when he resisted the dacoits’ attempt to loot the cashier, Abdul Wahid Malik.

Leaving Abid in a pool of blood, the dacoits took away Malik, along with the money he was carrying, at gun point. The police said the gang drove into the adjacent riverine area to escape arrest.

A number of people belonging to the Malik and Qambrani communities held a noisy demonstration against the incident and blocked the nearby section of the highway with burning tyres and barricades to vent their anger over the incident. They demanded immediate action by police to recover the abducted man.

The area police held talks with them and held out the assurance that Malik would be safely recovered soon. The protesters dispersed peacefully on the assurance.

Two hostages freed by police

Two hostages held by a gang for several weeks were safely rescued in an encounter in the riverine area of Ghouspur in Kandhkot-Kashmore district, police said on Sunday.

They said that upon receiving a tip-off, SSP Amjad Shaikh set up a special police team and tasked it with the rescue operation.

The team conducted a surprise raid on the hide out specified in the tip-off, they said, and added that the dacoits started firing on seeing the police team.

In the ensuing encounter, the dacoits were forced to retreat and flee the area.

Ghouspur SHO Akhtiar Ahmed Narejo, who led the raiding team along with the in-charge of the local CIA unit, said that the two hostages, Jan Mohammad Chachar, a resident of Bagan Laro, and Zohaib Shaikh, a resident of Shahi Bagh, Shikarpur, were safely recovered.

The freed men would be handed over to their families after legal formalities, the SHO said.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2023