LARKANA, March 26: Police in Ratodero resorted to aerial firing and lobbed tear gas shells to prevent a sectarian clash on the Ashur day when at least 10 persons were injured in the skirmishes between the members of two rival sects.

According to Ratodero police, the situation took an ugly turn when a tractor trolley carrying the participants of a mourning procession crossed barricades erected by police and raised slogans after reaching near Mohammdi Mosque, where the activists of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam had gathered for a congregation.

Some workers of the JUI came out of the mosque and beat their opponents, the police added.

The mourners disappeared from scene and later tuned up with their supporters.

However, in the meantime, a heavy police force led by DPO, Larkana, Ghulam Nabi Memon also reached to handle the situation and Frontier Constabulary was also called in.

Fearing that the situation might go out of control, police resorted to aerial firing and tear gas shelling.

Sources said that in the ensuing stampede, around dozen persons received slight injuries.

They were identified as Shoukat Larak, Ihsan Ahmed Jamali, Mohammed Umar, Ilahi Bakhsh Khokhar, Nadeem Khokhar and Ghulam Rasool Khokhar.

The DPO immediately suspended and demoted a police head constable, Nizamuddain, and suspended two policemen, Irshad Ali and Wilayat Shah, who were deployed near Shikarpur Chungi from where the tractor trolley loaded with the mourners came to the mosque.

Meanwhile, the Ratodero police have registered an FIR against at least 650 activists of the JUI and members of its rival sect for hindering police in performing duty, raising objectionable slogans and invoking sectarian feelings.

Inspector Nisar Ahmed Shaikh of investigation wing has begun conducting inquiry into the incident.

SHC: The Sindh High Court, circuit bench Larkana, on Tuesday released a detainee, Gada Hussain Chandio.

The court also ordered Inspector Ghulam Akbar Chandio and ASI Ghulam Serwar Soomro of the Khairpur Nathan Shah police to appear before it on March 28 and explain as to why the man had been detained and his truck containing buffaloes impounded.

Mr Chandio had approached the court and alleged that ASI Soomro intercepted his truck which was carrying five or six buffaloes to Kambar from Karachi.

The ASI drove the truck and detained Mr Chandio along with the cleaner. Later, the ASI released him and asked him to arrange for “some money”.

Justice M. Afzal Soomro appointed Abid Hussain Qazi as raid commissioner with the instructions to locate the detainee, the truck, and the buffaloes.

The raid commissioner told this scribe on Tuesday that he found the truck parked in the premises of the Khairpur Nathan Shah police station and Mr Chandio standing next to it. There was no entry about the illegal detention of the cleaner of the truck in the police station’s register.

The police claimed that the truck was found abandoned on the highway.

The SHO appeared before the court and repeated the claim that the truck was found abandoned on the highway.

The hearing was adjourned till March 28 when the division bench would hear the case. Both the SHO and ASI have been directed to appear along with the released detainee on the day.

OPEN KUTCHERY: The provincial secretaries of departments of education, forest, labour and transport will hold an open kutchery in Larkana on March 28 at the Circuit House.

Those interested have been advised to attend the kutchery.