LARKANA, March 22: Larkana police on Saturday claimed to have killed an outlaw after an encounter ensued near the Punjabi Jatoi village but the villagers blamed the police for having killed a local shepherd.

During routine patrolling of the area, the taluka police officer and the SHO of the Hatri Ghulam Shah police station were attacked near the village by the gang of Nang Kaliri, a press release issued by the DPO’s office stated on Saturday.

The police, it said, repulsed the attack and in the one-hour- long encounter one of the bandits was killed.

An FIR, the press release said, had been registered in this regard with the Hatri Ghulam Shah police station accusing Nang Kaliri, Fuji Kaliri, Ayoub Jatoi, Yunis Jatoi, Dedar Jatoi and Jhando Jatoi of having attacked the police.

Meanwhile, a group of villagers staged a demonstration at the Pakistan Chowk to protest over the killing of the villager.

Protesters set a number of tyres on fire and accused the TPO and other policemen of killing the 14-year-old boy, Akbar alias Jhando, son of Gul Mohammed Jatoi.

They said that police had shot him dead while he was busy spraying insecticide on the farm.

His dead body was later shifted to the Chandka Medical College Teaching Hospital for conducting an autopsy.

The villagers later staged another demonstration outside the local press club, DIG police office and accused police of murdering the boy.

Meanwhile, the DPO, Larkana, Noor Ahmed Paichoho, has appointed the ASP, City, Mohammed Aalam Shinwari, as the investigation officer to probe into the matter.

Babu Sarfraz Jatoi, general secretary of District Bar Association, Larkana, met with the DPO and apprised him of the situation.

Later, the DPO ordered to register an FIR against the police officers involved in the incident with the Hatri Ghulam Shah police station.