February 10, 2002	Sunday	Ziqa’ad 26, 1422

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THATTA, Feb 9: A wildlife team rounded up six poachers including a high-ranking provincial bureaucrat and four officials of his department, two of them section officers, while hunting in protective sanctuary Keenjhar Lake, and fined them besides recovering 35 coots from their possession on Saturday.

When contacted, Thatta district game warden (DGW) Pir Mohammad Channa told this scribe that five bureaucrats with their local host Hassan Katiar were fined Rs5,000 for illegal hunting at Keenjhar.

District Police Officer, Thatta, Najaf Mirza, told Dawn that he stopped with his family at the legendary Keenjhar Lake while on his way to Hyderabad.

A section officer approached the DPO and asked him to help conciliate the wild life raiding team claiming that the provincial bureaucrat and his subordinates who were on a hunting spree did not know that the site was a sanctuary.

Mr Mirza said that he called the DGW who after arguing for a while fined the bureaucrats Rs5,000 and issued penalty receipt in the name of their host Hassan Katiar.

BODY: The mutilated body of a young peasant Khair Mohammad son of Ali Mohammad Bhurgari was found at the bank of Jafra Wah near Mohammad Khan Bhurgari village on Saturday.

Noor Mohammad, brother of deceased, told Dawn that the crime seemed to have been committed by more than one person as the body contained bullet and axe wounds.

He said that they had no enmity with anybody.

No FIR was registered till filing of this report as the Bathoro police was waiting for the autopsy report of the body.

FIR: On the complaint of a journalist, an FIR has been lodged with Tando Mohammad Khan police against a former Mukhtiarkar, Tando Mohammad Khan, Ghulam Qadir Junejo, and three others for manhandling and trying to kidnap him besides snatching Rs35,000 cash and other valuables from him.

The FIR was registered on the directives of the provincial ombudsman by Shahek Khan Rind, correspondent of a Sindhi daily for Bulri Shah Karim.

He reported that he had filed a number of stories about irregularities and bribery in the office of Mukhtiarkar, Tando Mohammad Khan.

He said that this infuriated Junejo who in retaliation arranged an attack on him at B and R Colony by three motorcyclists.

On the instigation of Junejo who was present at the spot in a car, the attackers tried to kidnap him but on scuffle, they snatched Rs35,000 cash, wrist watch and other valuables from him, the newsman concluded.