THATTA: A murder case was registered at the Sujawal police station on Thursday night after almost a week of efforts by the bereaved family of Sadaq Rasool Sheikh, who was found dead in the meeting area of the petrol pump, where he was serving as manager, last Saturday.

The bereaved family, led by Mr Sheikh’s sister, Advocate Kanwal Sheikh, had been making relentless efforts to get the case registered but the area police appeared reluctant to oblige them as, according to her, the suspects were backed by highly influential political figures of Thatta and Sujawal districts.

On Wednesday, a large number of area people along with the heirs and their relatives assembled at the police station and raised slogans against apathy of the police. Advocate Kanwal Sheikh held hours-long debates with different police officers and also approached their high-ups over phone in her attempt to persuade the Sujawal SHO to register the FIR but in vain.

Woman lawyer’s brother was found dead last Saturday; police were not ready to book ‘influential’ suspects

In the evening, she and the protesters proceeded to the nearby section of the Sujawal-Karachi road and held a night-long sit-in, causing suspension of vehicular traffic between the two cities. SI Mushtaq Ahmed along with some officers and personnel drove to the site and threatened to use force if they did not end the protest and clear the road. However, the protesters refused to disperse and insisted that the FIR be registered as per the desire of the bereaved family.

The Sindh Bar Council in a statement condemned the police apathy in the matter and expressed sympathy its woman member over the death of her brother. It deplored the attitude of Sujawal police with the bereaved family. The Sujawal Shehri Ittahad also announced its plan to launch a protest drive over the alleged murder of Sadaq Rasool Sheikh.

Under mounting pressure, the police agreed to register the FIR.

Advocate Kanwal Sheikh then lodged the FIR against owner of the petrol pump, Ghulam Nabi Memon, along with his brother and their two employees under sections 302, 34 and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code late on Thursday night. The SHO stayed away from the police station while the FIR was being registered.

Speaking to local reporters, Advocate Imran Shah, who was present there, claimed that the police had seized a repeater gun and ammunition from the crime scene on Saturday. They had also collected a blood-stained bedsheet, he further claimed.

The bereaved family has call for a fair investigation into the case.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2022