KHAIRPUR, Sept 12: District Nazim Syed Niaz Hussain Jilani on Wednesday imposed section 144 in the district declaring examination centres for the Secondary School Certificate Part-II supplementary exams as prohibited areas, and banning cutting of trees in the desert areas.

The order prohibited gatherings of people in the radius of 400 yards of the centres and banned entry of any person into the centres except bona fide students holding admit cards and invigilation staff. Photocopy machines would also remain closed from 9am to 12 noon and 2pm to 5pm.

The nazim under same section banned cutting of trees in the desert areas in Nara, Thari Mirwah and Faiz Ganj talukas for the survival of wild and domestic animals.

He authorised all the police officers and forest officials to take action against violators of the ban and confiscate their tractor trolleys. The order would remain effective for seven days.

PROCESSION: A large number of the relatives of Ali Khan Bharejo, who was killed by unknown persons 11 days ago, staged a procession, which terminated in a sit-in outside the press club on Wednesday in protest against delay in the killers’ arrest.

More than 100 protesters led by Baig Mohammad and Abdul Waheed, brother and son of the deceased told journalists that Faiz Ganj police were backing the accused and threatening the family to withdraw the case.

Body of Ali Khan Bharejo with hands and feet tied was found in a cotton field near his village on Sept 1.

HOSTAGES FREED: Nineteen people belonging to Maitlo tribe, who had been taken hostage by armed cattle thieves from Bakhshan Maitlo village in jurisdiction of Ahmedpur police station on Tuesday, were freed on Wednesday.

A gang of armed thieves broke into the house of Moula Bux Maitlo late on Tuesday and took away his buffalo at gunpoint. The house owner and the villagers followed the thieves’ footprints, which led them to their hideout deep into the katcha area.

The thieves and the villagers exchanged fire for some time and in the end they took the villagers and snatched mobile phones and licensed arms from them.

The freed villagers included Gulzar, Khair Mohammad, Maqsood, Shahnawaz, Saindad, Naeem, Zahid, Anwar, Fateh Mohammad, Alam, Ali Dino, Mujahid, Saeed and Shabbir.

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