MIRPURKHAS, Nov 7: Three villagers wounded in a controversial police operation and ensuing clash in Basham Brohi village were arrested on Wednesday at the Civil Hospital Mirpurkhas. Two other villagers present at the hospital were also arrested.

A 17-year-old man, Dilmurad, was killed when a police force drawn from several districts of the province laid a siege of the village on Sunday for what the police claimed to be arresting some dacoits. A police constable, Akbar Shah, was also killed in the ensuing gun battle with villagers, who believed that the operation was launched at the behest of a landowner, Asad Junejo, who wanted the villagers — Brohis by caste — to vacate the agricultural lands possessed by them.

Nine other villagers, including two women, were wounded in the daylong engagement. Police claimed that two DSPs and eight policemen were among those wounded but civil hospital officials confirmed that only 11 wounded people were brought there from the village and only one policeman, constable Akbar Shah, was among them.

A police party led by the Investigation Officer, Inspector Qurban Mallah, entered the civil hospital and arrested the five persons, three of them — Basheer Ahmed , Mohammad Mureed and Abdul Wahid — admitted there for the treatment of the wounds they had received during the Sunday operation and clash. The others were identified as Abdul Qadeer and Mohammad Ashraf.

Earlier, SHO of Dilber Maher police station lodged an FIR against 12 nominated suspects and 30-40 unknown villagers for attacking police personnel with clubs, stones and firearms during the operation in Basham Brohi village within the remit of the Sindhri police station.

Contesting the police claims, the villagers demanded a thorough inquiry into the whole affair stating that Asad Junejo wanted to occupy their 222 acres of agricultural land and had been using law-enforcement agencies personnel for quite some time to force them give up the land.

The villagers have been continuing their protest against the police action since Sunday night and demanding registration of a murder FIR against the policemen involved as well as Asad Junejo.