KARACHI, Oct 25: The Karachi-based Maheshwary Panchayat has condemned the gruesome murder of a community member allegedly by a local landlord in Umerkot.

The incident took place some 10 days back when the victim, Ram Lal Maheshwary, was said to be called by the landlord to his autaq to clear a loan.

At a press conference held at the Karachi Press Club on Tuesday, the Panchayat spokesman, Arjun Lal Kumar, who was flanked by other members, briefed journalists about the brutal killing of Ram Lal.

According to him, Ram Lal was asked by the landlord to come to collect his loaned money. Instead of returning his money, the victim was brutally murdered, so much that his six fingers bearing gold rings were cut off and Rs70,000 snatched from him.

Mr Kumar said Ram Lal’s body was recovered from the landlord’s autaq, where it was buried, after 10 days only when the highest of authorities intervened following protests and demonstrations all over the Sindh province.

He appealed to the Sindh governor, chief minister and speaker of the Sindh Assembly to make sure that the culprits did not go unpunished by using their influence.

He regretted that constant threats were being issued to community members by the landlords who were a peace-loving people.

A demonstration was also held by the community members outside the KPC demanding exemplary punishment to the culprits.

Meanwhile, the Naib-Amir of Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) and MNA, Maulana Asadullah Bhutto, on Tuesday criticized the incidents of the killings of six villagers near Khairpur and the murder of kidnapped Hindu trader Ram Maheshwary in Umerkot, added PPI.

Expressing his concern over the rising incidents of kidnapping for ransom and murders in Sindh, he said it seemed that the government and rule of law had vanished from the province.

He said the deteriorating law and order had made the lives of people all the more miserable, but rulers always said everything was going to be fine.

Mr Bhutto also expressed his deep grief over the killing of the husband of MQM MPA in an alleged police encounter on the Superhighway.

He said the government should initiate a probe into the killings of innocent people in alleged police encounters.

He demanded of the provincial government to order a judicial investigation into the incidents and award severe punishments to the accused.