LARKANA: Two prisoners released from the Larkana district jail were shot dead along with three other persons in an attack on their car allegedly by rival litigants near jail road on Friday evening.

As soon as the freed persons, Shoukat and Amjad, belonging to the Solangi community, boarded a car to go back home, armed suspects riding two cars waylaid them and fired a volley of shots on the vehicle.

Both the Solangis and three brothers, Majid, Akhlaq and Najam, who belonged to the Chandio community and had come to the jail to receive the prisoners on their release, died on the spot.

Officials at the Waleed police station believed that the attack was carried out at the behest of the Solangis’ rivals in a murder case. They said Shoukat and Amjad were accused of killing two members of the Mugheri community and an FIR (No. 101/2021) was registered against them at the Warah police station of Qambar-Shahdadkot district.

The Solangi and Mugheri communities are residents of Mian Ratto village located near Lalurounk town in Qambar-Shahdadkot district and had been daggers drawn over the murder of two Mugheris some time ago.

The fresh attack caused great panic and fear in the areas around the prison.

The Waleed police rushed to the crime scene and took the five bodies to the Chandka Medical College Hospital for a postmortem examination.

They immediately cordoned off the area and sealed off the exit/entry points to prevent the killers from fleeing their jurisdiction.

The Larkana SSP has set up several teams to trace out and apprehend the culprits.

Pakistan Peoples Party MPA Faryal Talupr took notice of the incident and asked the senior police officers to ensure early arrest of the killers.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2023