The PoP project was first conceived by Sindh Police AIG Security SSP Maqsood Ahmad Memon, who gave a detailed presentation on the project during the SPMB meeting and outlined its benefits to the citizens. PHOTO: AFP
HYDERABAD:
A police couple, DSP Paras Bakhrani and her husband, DSP Zahoor Soomro, suffered gunshot wounds in a security operation in Shikarpur district on Tuesday that left six suspected outlaws dead and three injured. Four police officers were also injured in the shooting.
In a rare turn of events, the husband and wife, both officers of the same rank, fought side by side exchanging gunfire with the robbers while they themselves suffered gunshot wounds.
The rangers assisted the police action, which was sparked by a cash robbery of Rs 2.6 million from a shopkeeper in Shikarpur the other day, and lasted for several hours in Syed Manchar Shah locality on the outskirts of the city, known for a graveyard and an alleged narcotics den.
SSP Shahzeb Chachar, who later led the siege of that neighborhood after DSP Paras Bakhrani and her husband DSP Zahoor Soomro, besides two constables suffered serious gunshot wounds, had earlier put the number of suspects killed at ten. The number was later reduced to six. DIG Larkana Nasir Aftab Pathan also confirmed the death toll besides informing about the injured police officers.
Shikarpur civil hospital received six bodies and three injured suspects. The injured DSPs were shifted to a hospital in Sukkur district. DSP Bakhrani was shot twice and DSP Soomro once. Chachar told the media that four to five more hardened criminals are still hiding in the area and the search for them will continue until they can be captured dead or alive. “Today I broke their badmashi [rowdiness]”said the SSP.
“Both DSPs are out of danger,” he confirmed, especially praising DSP Bakhrani for serving in a “difficult area” despite being a woman. The slain suspects, whose bodies are kept in the hospital mortuary, have been identified as Shahzado Shaikh, Sabir Shaikh, Imdad Shaikh, Shahmore Shaikh, Asif Shaikh and Owais Shaikh. Among the injured were Ayaz Shaikh, Gul Muhammad Shaikh and Sajid Shaikh. They all belong to a supposedly notorious gang of Kuraro Shaikh and Shahzado Shaikh.
The SPP claimed the recovery of a large number of weapons. He asserted that there was a link between the gang and bandits from riverside areas in the crimes of kidnappings and robberies. “These shameless people brought criminals from the riverine areas and facilitated their crimes in the urban areas of Shikarpur.”
According to him, after theft of cash from a shopkeeper in Anaj Mandi, police investigation traced the suspects to Syed Manchar Shah. He said that later a police team led by the DSP was sent to the locality to arrest the suspects, but the police came under fire. Meanwhile, doctors from Karachi were flown to Sukkur in an air ambulance to examine the DSPs who appeared to be in the process of recovery. In the afternoon, the FIR of the encounter could not be registered.
CM Murad Ali Shah paid tribute to the bravery of police officers and injured personnel during an operation against robbers and criminal gangs in Shikarpur.
He directed the police to intensify action against robbery gangs and ensure full restoration of law and order in the district.
CM Murad expressed his 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 directed district council president Sukkur Syed Kumail Shah to arrange air ambulance for the injured officers if necessary, ensuring that they receive the best possible medical treatment.
“Thieves who do not surrender will face strict action,” the CM warned and emphasized that the police have been given clear instructions to uphold the state’s authority in Shikarpur.
