24 February 2004	Tuesday	03 Muharram 1425

KARACHI, Feb 23: Recovery of the decomposed bodies of two girls triggered violence in Murad Memon Goth on Monday evening where people took to the streets, lit bonfires and staged a sit-in around the area police station.

The two minor girls - Hajra, 8, and Sassi, 5 - had gone missing two days ago. Their disappearance had been reported to the Gadap police station, said some residents.

The police had declined to register a case and were generally reluctant to mount efforts to locate the missing girls, they added. They demanded that the station house officer of the police station be removed from his position immediately.

The Town Police Officer (TPO) of Gadap town, Ahmed Khan Jamali, disputed the residents' claim, saying that an FIR had been registered on Feb 21. However, he suspended the SHO - Munir Phulpotto - in order to calm the people down.

The police said the two bodies were recovered from the premises of a veterinary hospital which was closed since the last several years. The residents alleged that the place was under the use of the policemen. The police station is located nearby.

The police said a leg of one of the girls had been amputated and an axe was recovered from the spot. Regarding the condition of the bodies, the TPO said it was premature to say anything about the cause of the girls' death or whether they were sexually abused.

Details could only be established after the postmortem examinations were complete, he added. Until the filing of this news report, "negotiations" were in progress between the policemen and the residents.

The residents of the area alleged that the policemen were not interested in maintaining law and order. They were only interested in their share from the "Reti-Bajri" business, they added.