SUKKUR: A strong contingent drawn from various police stations of the Sukkur range on Wednesday carried out a big operation in many villages, bulldozed several houses and torched some of them near Khanpur Mahar town of Ghotki district and arrested 10 suspected criminals.

Led by Mirpur Mathelo DSP Abdul Qayyum Mahar, a convoy of police vans and an armoured personnel carrier stormed Pir Bharee, Sahanjro, Kandair Shaikh, Gopo Pitafi, Saropo Bozdar and other villages in what was described as an ‘anti-criminals operation’.

The police carried out a house-to-house search for some wanted suspects and marked 10 houses, five of which were later bulldozed and the others set on fire.

Ali Bukhsh, Shabbir, Shahmir, Ilyas, Imam Bukhsh, Lalu, Fateh Mohammed and three other members of the Bozdar community were arrested during the operation.

The affected villagers alleged that police teams took away their livestock, grain stocks and household articles whereas some of them claimed that they [police] also seized their vehicles, including a motorcycle, a rickshaw and a tractor.

According to DSP Mahar, a few suspected criminals were taken into custody for interrogation. He said the houses belonging to wanted criminals and those where they had been hiding to escape arrest had been demolished.

A large number of people held a protest demonstration after the police operation accusing the DSP and his subordinates of committing excesses against them and illegally seizing their belongings in the name of action against criminals.

Bhai Khan, Ibrahim, Pir Bukhsh, Arbab, Mai Panah Khatoon, Mai Muradan and others led the protesters, who demanded release of their relatives and restoration of the seized properties to them.

They said the arrested people had no links with any criminal but the police were forcing them to give fake statements against certain suspects.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2016