The PoP project was first conceived by Sindh Police AIG Security SSP Maqsood Ahmad Memon, who gave a detailed presentation of the project at the SPMB meeting and highlighted its benefits for citizens. PHOTO: AFP
HYDERABAD:
A police couple, DSP Paras Bakhrani and her husband DSP Zahoor Soomro, were shot and injured during a security operation in Shikarpur district on Tuesday, which left six suspected outlaws dead and three injured. Four police officers were also injured in the shooting.
In a rare twist of events, the husband and wife, both officers of the same rank, fought side by side exchanging gunfire with the dacoits while themselves sustaining bullet wounds.
The police action, triggered by a cash theft of 2.6 million rupees from a Shikarpur shopkeeper the other day, lasted several hours in the locality of Syed Manchar Shah, on the outskirts of the city, known for its graveyard and suspected narcotics den.
SSP Shahzeb Chachar, who later led the siege in this district after DSP Paras Bakhrani and her husband DSP Zahoor Soomro, along with two police constables, were shot and seriously injured, had earlier put the number of suspects killed at ten. Later this figure was reduced to six. DIG Larkana Nasir Aftab Pathan also confirmed the death toll besides informing the injured cops.
The civil hospital in Shikarpur received six dead bodies and three injured suspects. The injured DSPs were shifted to a hospital in Sukkur district. DSP Bakhrani was shot twice and DSP Soomro one. Chachar told media that four or five other hardened criminals are still hiding in the area and their hunt will continue until they can be caught dead or alive. “Today I broke their badmashi [rowdiness]“, the SSP said.
“Both DSPs are out of danger,” he confirmed, particularly praising DSP Bakhrani for serving in a “difficult area” despite being a woman. The slain suspects, whose bodies were kept at the hospital morgue, were identified as Shahzado Shaikh, Sabir Shaikh, Imdad Shaikh, Shahmore Shaikh, Asif Shaikh and Owais Shaikh. The injured include Ayaz Shaikh, Gul Muhammad Shaikh and Sajid Shaikh. They all belong to an allegedly notorious gang consisting of Kuraro Shaikh and Shahzado Shaikh.
The SPP claimed the recovery of a large number of weapons. He claimed that there was a link between the gang and bandits from the riverine areas in the crimes of kidnapping and robbery. “These shameless people brought criminals from riverine areas and helped them commit crimes in urban areas of Shikarpur.”
According to him, after the theft of money from a shopkeeper in Anaj Mandi, the police investigation helped trace the suspects back to Syed Manchar Shah. He said later, a police team led by the DSPs was sent to the spot to arrest the suspects, but the police were attacked by gunfire. Meanwhile, doctors from Karachi were flown to Sukkur in an air ambulance to examine the DSPs who appeared to be recovering. The FIR of the encounter could not be registered in the evening.
CM Murad Ali Shah paid tribute to the courage of injured police officers and personnel during an operation against dacoits and criminal gangs in Shikarpur.
He ordered the police to intensify action against dacoit gangs and ensure full restoration of law and order in the district.
CM Murad expressed solidarity with DSP City Shikarpur Paras Bakhrani, her husband DSP Garhi Yasin Zahoor Soomro and four injured staff members, conveying his prayers for their speedy recovery.
The CM asked district council president Sukkur Syed Kumail Shah to arrange an air ambulance for the injured policemen if necessary, to ensure that they receive the best possible medical treatment.
“Dacoits who fail to surrender will face strict action,” the CM warned, pointing out that the police had been given clear instructions to maintain state authority in Shikarpur.
