MULTAN, May 4: Relatives of the eight Dulani Mazari tribesmen, who were killed in an 'encounter' with Rajanpur police on Saturday last, have demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident by a high court.

Rojhan Tehsil Nazim Sardar Rafiq Azam Mazari also endorsed the demand of the Dulani tribesmen for a high-level judicial inquiry into, what he said, the "massacre of the villagers."

People would trust only an inquiry conducted either by a high court judge or a district and sessions judge, he told Dawn. The Nazim, who visited the area on Tuesday, said the police had orphaned at least 50 children by killing eight Dulani tribesmen in cold blood. He said Dulani women were complaining that the police had taken away whatever they deemed valuable, including jewellery and cash.

Information gathered by this correspondent through official and non-official sources revealed that Bangla Ichha police station in-charge, inspector Azeem Niazi, along with a contingent raided the kutcha area to arrest three Dulani tribesmen wanted in a murder case.

Rafiqullah, Dilmurad and Soona of Dulani clan allegedly killed a Musani Mazari over a trivial issue last year. The deceased's uncle, Khair Muhammad Musani, lodged a case with the Bangla Ichha police against the Dulanis.

It is learnt that Khair Muhammad was accompanying the raiding party when the 'encounter' took place. Besides, complainants in some other cases were also with the police party.

Among them was Peeri Menglani, who had lodged an FIR against some Umrani tribesmen of the area for torching his house. Talking to Dawn on Tuesday, Menglani said police stormed the Dulanis' dwellings early in the morning and rounded up Muhammad Bakhsh and Ali Dost. Later, they started firing and it was not clear whether it was returned.

Menglani said at least the Dulanis were not involved in the shootout. He said he heard inspector Niazi saying why was my force firing and then suddenly a bullet hit him and he fell injured on the ground. Menglani said he and three others immediately put the injured inspector on a cot to save his life.

He said they were crying for help to rescue inspector Niazi when his (inspector's) guard Rauf Balachani, constables Najam Gorchani, Shabbir Naanga and three others, whom he could not identify, opened fire at handcuffed Muhammad Bakhsh and Ali Dost, killing them on the spot.Menglani said he took refuge in a hut and didn't know what happened later on. He said he had recorded the same statement after the incident to DSP (headquarters) Chaudhry Liaquat of Rajanpur.

Area people contacted by this correspondent said after the death of inspector Niazi, a contingent of Elite Force also reached the area and started house-to-house operation in which they separated men from rest of their families. They claimed that the police, later, gunned down Rafiqullah, his father Dil Murad, Mohib, Noor Elahi, Sona and Elahi Bakhsh in cold blood while took away nine others.

Mohib was a union council Nazim while Noor Elahi was a prayer leader at the local mosque. Area people claimed none of those killed had a criminal record, except Rafiqullah, Dilmurad and Soona, who were charged with murder.

They said the Dulanis had arranged compensation for the Musani tribe for murdering their man over a property dispute. For this, they had recently sold out some 30 acres at the rate Rs80,000 per acre.

The raiding police also took away the money the Dulanis were keeping to settle the dispute with Musanis through tribal elders, they alleged. When talked, Rajanpur DPO Shahid Iqbal couldn't give detail of the cases against the deceased Dulanis, except the murder of Musani tribesman. "Don't you think that a murder case is enough to prove one a criminal?" he asked.

He said the police and other law-enforcement agencies had been engaged in operation for the last month against the outlaws active in the kutcha area. The DPO said the police had torched all the houses of the Dulani tribesmen after the 'encounter.'

Sources said inspector Niazi was on the hit list for his audacity. The 'mysterious' bullet that invited the police's wrath against the Dulani villagers could be the act of any of the gangs, which had joined force to combat the operation.

Last year, the Rahim Yar Khan police had launched an operation against the criminals in kutcha area and when they entered a forest known in the area as 'Karachi jungle' the outlaws surrounded them. The policemen had to flee without their armour personnel carrier (APC) and arms, which they later took back through negotiations with dacoits.