MINGORA: Hundreds of residents of various villages along with family members of a victim, who succumbed to wounds after being severely wounded by his rivals in Batora village near Saidu Sharif, last month, protested outside the DPO office here on Friday against the police’s alleged backing of the culprits.

The protesters from Kokrai, Shneysha, Serai, Guligram, Akhunkaley and Batora villages, placed the body of the deceased, Bakht Zamin, in front of the DPO office, holding banners and urging the Chief Justice of Pakistan, chief minister and police chief to order arrest of the murderers and award them exemplary punishments. Later, they staged a sit-in there, which continued until evening.

According to the protesters, on June 17, about 30 gunmen came to the Batora village mosque and started firing on Bakht Zamin and his family members, when they were coming out after offering Friday prayers, leaving eight persons critically injured.

Man injured by rivals last month dies in hospital

“Zamin was critically injured and was shifted to Saidu Teaching Hospital along with other injured persons, but he was referred to Peshawar where he succumbed to injuries on Thursday,” said Iqbal Hussain, from Batora village.

“Ironically, police arrested four people from our side and returned the weapons used in the crime to the rival group,” he alleged.

He said two other people were also critically injured and were under treatment in Peshawar.

Wife of the deceased, who accompanied the body of her husband, said the victim had returned a year ago from abroad, but the cruel people snatched him from her. “I don’t know where to go with my five children and where to get justice.”

Afsha, one of the daughters of the deceased, was also among the protesters, who said the police and security forces ransacked their house on the day of the incident when all of her family members were in hospital. “When we came back we saw police busy in searching our house. We were crying but policemen taunted us and laughed at us,” she blamed.

Mohammad Shafi, the victim’s cousin, said personnel from Kukrai and Saidu Sharif police stations misbehaved with them and did not register their reports.

“The police returned all the weapons used in the firing incident back to the rival group and arrested our people who are still in prison while the real culprits are moving freely in the village,” he alleged.

The protesters said that they would not bury the dead until police arrested the culprits, punished them severely and also released their men. They also blamed the police for taking bribe from their rivals.

However, Swat DPO Saleem Marwat told Dawn that all the 11 nominated people in the FIR had been arrested and presented in court, which released some of them on bail. However, after one of the injured persons died in hospital the police have re-arrested the released men,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2016