DADU: Police arrested 20 mourners in Jacobabad and booked 300 in Dadu for taking out Yaum-i-Ali processions in violation of lockdown measures a day before, said police officials on Saturday.

SHO Shafi Mohammad Golo registered an FIR at A-Section police station in Dadu against 300 participants of processions and started conducting raids on their residences to arrest them.

SUKKUR: Jacobabad police confirmed on Saturday arresting 20 mourners for violating lockdown SOPs and attacking police when they were stopped from taking out processions.

Police said that when Shia organisations took out a procession from Sher Shah Imambargah in violation of the SOPs, police contingents led by DSPs and SHOs tried to stop them, which led to a clash between police and the participants.

Police lobbed tear-gas shells to disperse the gathering and arrested Shia leader Syed Ahsan Ali Shah. Afterwards different groups gathered at Masjid Ali on Quaid-i-Azam road and once again tried to take out a procession but police reached there in time and broke up the gathering, said officials.

They said the action led to a clash and the mourners pelted policemen with stones before police managed to bring them under control and arrested 20 mourners including Syed Noor Shah, Kamran Shah, Mohammad Ali Soomro, Saeed Brohi, Muzammil Domki, Ali Raza Bhatti, Umair Brohi, Mansab Brohi, Ghulam Hyder Brohi and others.

Two policemen Imdad Ali Rind and Ahsan Ali Shah suffered injuries when they were hit by stones thrown by the mourners. They were shifted to Jacobabad Civil Hospital, said police.

SSP Bashir Ahmed Brohi later told journalists that police had tried to persuade Shia leaders at a meeting not to take out the procession and they had assured them of not violating the lockdown but in spite of that hundreds of people gathered to take out a procession and pelted police with stones when they were stopped, he said, police took necessary steps within limits of law to stop them.

However, a Shia leader told media persons that when they were holding a Majlis at Masjid Ali some masked policemen entered the mosque and started hitting them with batons and lobbing tear-gas shells at the assembly in which many mourners were injured and several others were arrested. If they were not provided justice they would widen their protest, he warned.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2020