DADU: While MPA Nawab Sardar Ahmed Chandio, his younger brother and a former adviser to the chief minister Nawab Burhan Khan and their four other close relatives nominated in the case of Jan 17 murder of a UC chairman, Raees Karamullah Chandio and his two sons remained at large, the latter’s son and three other close relatives nominated in a counter FIR obtained their interim pre-arrest bail from the Dadu district and sessions judge on Monday.

Raees Karamullah Chandio, and his two sons, Muktiar and Qabil, were killed in an armed attack on their house, located in Ahmed Colony of Mehar town, by a group of their fellow tribesmen allegedly led by Ghulam Qadir alia Qadu, who was also killed in the retaliatory fire.

Raees Karamullah’s family alleged that the group led by Qadu carried out the attack at the behest of MPA Nawab Chandio and Burhan Khan and an FIR against the two brothers along with their four associates was lodged at the A-Section police station but the accused strongly rejected the allegation.

Qadu’s wife, Bibi Chandio, however, lodged a counter-FIR against deceased Raees Karamullah, his three sons — deceased Muktiar and Qabil, and Pervaiz — as well as Mukhtiar’s son, Saddam, and their two close relatives, Aijaz and Manzoor, accusing them of killing her husband.

The surviving nominated suspects on Monday obtained their interim pre-arrest bail from the district and sessions court in a sum of Rs200,000 each.

Raees Karamullah was the chairman of Baldai union council of Mehar taluka. Both he and MPA Nawab Chandio belong to the Pakistan Peoples Party but the Raees family believed the party was protecting the Nawabs in the murderous attack case as the police were not laying hands on them.

BADIN: PPP’s Badin district president Haji Ramzan Chandio, on Monday issued a statement strongly condemning nomination of MPA Nawab Chandio and his family members in the case. He termed the allegations against the Chandio chieftain, his brother and other close relatives “false and fabricated”.

Ramzan Chandio also expressed his grief and sorrow over the murders of Raees Chandio, his two sons and Qadu Chandio in the tragic incident.

He called for the withdrawal of the case in order to ease the tension and unrest gripping the Chandio tribe and Mehar taluka since the day of the incident.

The provincial police chief on Sunday assigned the investigation of the whole episode to the Hyderabad SSP, transferring the case from his Dadu counterpart.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2018