THIS is apropos your editorial ‘Rajanpur gangsters’ (Aug 22). The release of policemen by the remnant bandits of the Chotu gang is not a result of a so-called fierce operation by the police.

In fact, as your paper mentioned ‘rumours about a deal’, I would like to add that those rumours are true. Yes, it is true that a deal was made between the police and the bandits about the release of seven policemen. The deal was to release seven detained criminals by the police as the bandits, in return, will release the policemen.

This agreement was carried out with great secrecy so that no one, especially news agencies, could notice it. The word is that the police released the detainees at midnight and in an area like Rojhan Mazari where even stray dogs sleep after 10pm. They succeeded in their activity and the policemen were released.

There is no denying the fact that lives of policemen are very precious and every effort should be made to ensure their security, but releasing convicted criminals is against the very contributions and sacrifices made by the police. It is grave injustice with the people of Rojhan Mazari as well. It is injustice with the martyred policemen who had sacrificed their lives while trying to rope in these criminals.

Another tragedy relates to the concealment of truth about making a deal, which is also an infringement upon our constitutional right to information. People must be told the reality of an incident, especially in these cases. I waited for news agencies to expose the deal but sadly no one did save your newspaper which mentioned it as ‘rumours’ in the editorial. Being a resident of this very tehsil , I consider it my civil duty to bring this grave situation to the notice of the public, news agencies and authorities concerned.

M. Zeeshan Mazari

Rajanpur

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2017