LARKANA, Dec 13: Jamshoro police arrested three policemen from Warah and Qambar on Monday. The three were part of a police party who raided the house of Sindhi folk singer Urs Chandio in Gharibabad Colony in Jamshoro on Friday and killed his brother and two nephews.

ASI Noor Ahmed Mugheri, Nazeer Massan and Naimat Nagraj were among the 10 police officials nominated in the triple murder FIR. They were gunmen of the SHOs of Qambar and Naseerabad police stations and were present during the raid on the singer’s house but their names were not incorporated in the FIR, sources said, adding that police took them to Jamshoro.

The sources said that Qambar’s CIA police were asked to hand over the cops to Jamshoro police.

Qamar-Shahdadkot DPO Azfar Mahesar was not available for comments.

The DPO had on Saturday suspended Qambar DSP Abdul Wahid Buriro,

Khadim Magsi, Akbar Khokhar, Mir Mohammed Abbasi, Anwar Abro, Imdad Hulio, Mullazim Hussain Abbasi (the SHOs of Mirokhan, Mahi Makol, Drigh, Naseerabad, Warah and Qambar police stations, respectively), Manzoor Mastoi, in-charge investigation officer of Warah, ASIs Shahid Memon, Noor Ahmed Mughiri and Banho Khuhawar, a constable, after registration of the FIR against them at Jamshoro police station.

Ghulam Murtaza Chandio, a nephew of Urs Chandio, has lodged the FIR accusing the police officials of sneaking into Urs’ house and killing his brother Mohbat Ali, and nephews Irshad Ali and Muneer Ahmed.

The killings were an offshoot of a dispute between two groups of Chandios living in Warah town.

It started when Ghulam Mustafa Chandio (Cholyani) forcibly married Aamnat Chandio (Sakhani) about six months ago and in a tit-for-tat revenge Sakhanis kidnapped Zeenat Cholyani.

Later, one Mohammad Ali Sakhani who was a relative of Urs Chandio was killed and his family migrated to Jamshoro, the sources said.

Lal Khan Cholyani, Zeenat’s father registered an FIR at Warah police station, accusing Abdul Raouf, Abdul Raheem, Ali Khan and other close relatives of Urs Chandio of kidnapping his daughter.

He had also filed a petition in the Sindh High Court’s Larkana circuit court that had ordered police to recover Zeenat. Police had been looking for the accused for the past three months, sources in police said.

Talking to Dawn on Monday, Urs Chandio, who had also migrated to Jamshoro with his extended family following the dispute, said that it was sheer injustice that police had raided his house and killed three of his relatives.

He had nothing to do with the dispute between Sakhanis and Cholyanis and he had been targeted only because he was a local celebrity, he said.

Tribal people often killed prominent people of their rival clan even if they were not involved in the dispute. “I am a folk singer and have firm belief in spreading happiness and I loath tribal wars,” he said.

Our Hyderabad Bureau adds: Jamshoro and Qambar-Shahdadkot police also arrested three private persons, Ali Nawaz Choliyani, Ameer Ali Choliyani and Zameer Ali Choliyani, on Monday and got their one-day remand from a Kotri court.

A special team headed by Dadu DPO Javed Jiskani visited the crime scene in Jamshoro and made inquiries from eyewitnesses.

He told journalists during the visit that a report would be submitted to the DIG within three days and even the DPO of Qambar-Shahdadkot would not be spared if he was found involved in the raid and killings.

Meanwhile, chieftain of Chandio tribe, Sardar Khan Chandio, who arrived in Jamshoro to offer condolences to Urs Chandio, told journalists that his sympathies rested with Urs and vowed that the accused would not be forgiven.

JSQM leader Ghulam Rasool Chandio, however, cast doubts on police probe and demanded that the investigation should be conducted by retired judges.

Urs Chandio shared his doubts and repeated the same demand that retired judges should be appointed to conduct the investigation.