MITHI: Aalim Bheel, brother of Dodo Bheel, a labourer who was tortured to death by security guards of a mining company during his illegal detention, has decided to withdraw the murder case he had registered at Islamkot police station against his brother’s killers.

The guards had kept Bheel detained at their torture cell and subjected him and two other co-workers to inhuman torture on charges of theft. He sustained 19 fatal wounds caused by a blunt object and died on July 30 this year during treatment at the Hyderabad Civil Hospital.

In a surprising move, Aalim appeared in a court in Hyderabad on Friday and announced withdrawing the charges against chief accused Kashif Commando and Huzefia Malik, the officials of the mining firm’s security company and other co-accused, informing the court that he was likely to reach an out of court settlement with the accused.

The judges, who heard his plea, asked him to move district and sessions judge in Mithi and submit the application if he had decided in principle to pardon the accused.

Advocate Wasand Thari requested the court that his client did not want to continue with the trial and wanted to file NOC with regard to bail applications filed by the accused in the court.

He told media persons that Aalim had decided to withdraw his application against the accused for reasons best known to him.

Sources disclosed to Dawn on Sunday that Aalim took the decision after elders of his community, including PTI leader advocate Lajpat Soorani agreed to pardon the accused in return for Rs10 million compensation for the victim’s family. “Advocate Soorani has brokered the deal between the parties on the directions of some hidden forces,” they said.

They said that Aalim had received a cheque for Rs2 million as the first installment of the compensation before submitting NOC to the court.

Advocate Soorani rejected the reports in a press statement issued to local journalists that it was he who had brokered the deal.

Published in Dawn, November 22nd, 2021