DADU: The district police of Dadu on Thursday arres­ted Sikandar Chandio, one of the seven suspects nominated in the FIR of the Jan 17 armed attack on the house of Raees Karamullah Chan­dio — the chairman of Baldai union council ­ in Ahmed Colony of Mehar town.

Raees Chandio and his two sons, Mukhtiar and Qabil, were killed and several other persons were wounded in the attack. One of the alleged attackers, Ghulam Qadir alias Qadu Chandio, was killed in what was claimed to be retaliatory fire.

The Raees family lodged an FIR at the A-Section police station of Mehar town accusing MPA Nawab Sardar Khan Chandio — chieftain of the Chandio tribe in Mehar taluka — his younger brother Burhan Khan Chandio — a former adviser to the Sindh chief minister — and several other close relatives of the MPA of perpetrating the attack. The nominated suspects included Sikandar Chandio.

While the bereaved family constantly pressed for arrest of the suspects, police did not lay hands on them apparently owing to the MPA’s poli­tical clout. In the meantime, the inspector-general of police transferred the case investigation from Dadu SSP Qamar Raza Jiskani to his Hyderabad counterpart Pir Mohammad Shah, triggering a debate as to which district’s police would be authorised to make arrests in the case.

SSP Jiskani held a press conference in his office on Thursday to tell reporters that a team of the Dadu district police arrested Sikan­dar while he and two other nominated suspects riding motorcycles were spotted at Tamandar Chowk in Mehar town.

“We had received information that Sikandar and his two associates, all nominated in the FIR, are seen travelling together at Tamandar Chowk. A police team intercepted and signalled them to stop but they tried to flee. The team caught Sikandar but his associates managed to dodge police and drive away,” said SSP Jiskani. He claimed that the police team seized a repeater gun and 12 live cartridges from Sikandar Chandio. He also claimed that the arres­ted suspect confessed to have used the gun in the attack on Raees Chandio’s house on Jan 17.

The SSP produced the suspect before reporters at the press conference and identified him as Sikandar Chandio. “He will be handed over to the Hyderabad SSP,” the police officer added.

SSP Jiskani said that raids would continue to be carried out on the suspected hideouts of other suspects excluding those who had obtained their pre-arrest bail.

Meanwhile, Raeez Karamullah’s other son, Pervaiz Chandio, who has lodged the FIR, has filed an application at the Dadu SSP office complaining of death threats from the rival side. He demanded police protection in this regard.

Speaking to local reporters, he said although his family, like the Nawab family, belonged to the Pakistan Peoples Party, “no senior PPP leader or elected representative had bothered yet to visit us even to condole the death of my father and two brothers”.

MPA, brother obtain pre-arrest bail

LARKANA: MPA Nawab Sardar Khan Chandio and his younger brother Burhan Khan Chandio obtained their interim pre-arrest bail in the case from the Sindh High Court, Larkana bench, on Wednesday, it was learnt on Thursday.

The bail application was filed on their behalf by Advocate Asif Abdul Razzak Soomro.The counsel pleaded that his clients were ready to appear before the police investigating team and trial court.

The bench comprising Jus­tice Mohammed Iqbal Kal­horo and Justice Nadeem Akhtar granted them inte­rim pre-arrest bail for six days, said the additional advocate general.

SSP records statements

HYDERABAD: Hyder­abad SSP Pir Mohammad Shah on Thursday recorded statements of MPA Nawab Sardar Khan Chandio and Burhan Khan Chandio. He also recorded statements of Burhan’s four witnesses.

The SSP obtained the mobile phone numbers of all six persons to verify their call data records (CDRs) for an analysis, and told them that they could be called for questioning after the analysis was done. MPA Chandio, told the SSP that he had no enmity with deceased Raees Karamullah Chandio and his family.

An old dispute with them had already been settled down amicably about a couple of years back, he argued, and raised some other points in his defence.

Speaking to reporters after recording the statements in his office, the SSP said MPA Sardar Chandio and Burhan Chandio had obtained their interim pre-arrest bail from the Sindh High Court.

He said that he would again visit Mehar to examine the scene of offence. He said he was investigating the case from different angles.

He said that the claim about Burhan Chandio’s pre­sence at the scene of offence during the attack was being weighed.

Burhan produced his witnesses to show that he had left Qambar-Shahdadkot district to proceed to Qasimabad on Jan 16 and then left for Tando Mohammad Khan on Jan 17 at 10am (when the triple murder in Mehar took place) after an overnight stay in Hyderabad.

The witnesses are his friends and hosts who accompanied him in Qambar-Shah­dad­kot when he left for Hyder­abad and his hosts in Qasimabad and Tando Mohammad Khan.

Published in Dawn, January 26th, 2018