March 21, 2006	Tuesday	Safar 20, 1427

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SUKKUR, March 20: Hundreds of vehicles were stranded between Shikarpur and Jacobabad on Monday when buses blocked the road in protest against mistreatment by police of a cleaner who, with wagon driver and passengers, was observing a sit-in on the road after having been robbed a short while ago.

Reports said a gang of armed dacoits intercepted a passenger wagon (JS-1770), which was going to Sukkur from Thull and deprived the passengers and driver of cash, mobile phones, wristwatches and other valuables before fleeing towards katcha area.

The robbed then sat on the road at Lodra in protest bringing the traffic to a halt.

A police party from a nearby check post came to make the protesters clear the road. They asked the cleaner and driver at gunpoint to end their blockade, when they refused police mistreated them, reports said.

This infuriated drivers and passengers of other vehicles, and in protest they parked their vehicles across the road, thus completely blocking the traffic.

The mistreated cleaner told the robbery took place just a hundred meters away from the check post, but police did not come to their rescue, and came only to make them clear the road and that too at gunpoint.

When the blockade prolonged, DSP Shikarpur rushed to the scene, and negotiated with protesting drivers who demanded action against policemen for gross negligence of duty.

The drivers had, however, not ended the blockade till the filing of this report.