October 5, 2001	Friday	Rajab 17, 1422

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MIRPURKHAS, Oct 4: Armed men set on fire over a dozen houses in Karyo Ba, Moriar, Umeedo Bheel and Geno Bheel villages of the Kaplore union council, Umerkot, after looting cash, thousands of maunds of millet and other grains and valuables on Thursday.

Over 50 affected villagers, including women and children, who staged a protest demonstration in front of the local press club, told Dawn that the assailants had set their houses on fire at the behest of Noor Mohammad Samejo, Naib Nazim of the Kaplore union council.

They said they had been cultivating their lands, whose owners had migrated to India at the time of partition, for the past 50 years, but the Naib Nazim and Allah Warayo Maher wanted to occupy the lands and for that purpose, over 100 armed men, including Allah Warayo Maher, Partab Thakur, Lachhman Thakur, Jaggmal Thakur, Nepo Thakur, Karo Thakur, Gago Thakur and Dilbar Mehar, had attacked their villages.

They said the assailants had resorted to aerial firing for hours to harass them and had looted cash, thousands of maunds of grains, a camel and other valuables.

The affected villagers said that the assailants had set afire over a dozen houses, rendering them homeless.

They alleged that at the behest of the Naib Nazim, the Umerkot police had registered a false report against five villagers after taking bribe from the attackers.

They demanded that Sindh inspector-general of police, the Mirpurkhas DIG and the DCO take notice of the excesses of the Naib Nazim and the police and order an impartial inquiry into the matter.

Former MNA Kirshan Bheel, district council member Ponjo Bheel advocate and Abdul Rehman Sarhandi, divisional organizer of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, (HRCP) were also present at demonstration.

held: Digri police have arrested accused Manzoor Ali Brohi from Bandi Shakh on Thursday and recovered a stolen motorcycle (HDP-922) and an unlicensed TT pistol from his possession.

BANKERS: A meeting of the Mirpurkhas Bankers Club was held here on Thursday.

Muhammad Zaman Khan, president of the club presided over it. On this occasion, prominent lawyer Muhammad Jabbar Khan spoke on the Income Tax Ordinance 2001.

Uplift schemes: District coordination officer Mir Hussain Ali has said that in the second phase of the Khushhal Pakistan Programme in district, 33 schemes with an estimated cost of Rs166.8404 millions would be completed.

The schemes include eight projects of farm-to-market pucca road, two water supply schemes and 23 schemes of providing facilities to various towns of the district.

The District Coordination Officer was briefing a seven-member delegation of under- training senior officers of the 75th group of the Pakistan administrative staff college, Lahore, here at circuit house on Thursday.