THATTA, June 22: Eight villagers, including women and children, were injured, five critically, when police resorted to aerial firing, used batons and lobbed tear-gas shells on a crowd who were protesting against a Pakistan People’s Party MNA and police outside the press club on Sunday.

The protestors staged a sit-in and were raising slogans when a heavy contingent of police led by DSP Aftab Nizamani and SHO Wajid Thaheem attacked them with batons and tear-gas shells and kept firing in the air to disperse them, injuring Irshad, Usman, Nooruddin, Noor Hassan, Hamida, Zulfiqar, Chaghi, Noor Khatoon and others.

Usman, Irshad and Hassan whose condition was stated to be serious were later moved to Karachi.

The protesters leaders, Ali Sher Soomro, Farid Soomro and Gulzar Ahmed, alleged that police had picked up three members of their community, Mohammed Umer, Fahim and Noor Nabi at the instigation of PPP MNA Dr Wahid Soomro, and moved them to an undisclosed place.

They said that they had a dispute over a piece of plot with the MNA who had made their lives miserable after coming into power.

The MNA Dr Abdul Wahid Soomro dismissed the protest as politically motivated and blamed his political rivals for instigating people to protest against him and tarnish his image.

Thatta DPO Naeem Shaikh did not respond despite repeated calls.