MIRPURKHAS, Feb 6: A six-month-old girl, Bakhtawar, was killed and her parents were injured in an attack on a peasant family by landlords in Ranjho Mari village on Thursday.

Peasant Ghulam Qadir Shaikh had obtained a loan of Rs5,000 from landlord Ranjho Mari. The landlord's sons had demanded the money and on delay had held his wife and children hostage.

Shaikh reportedly paid the money and was leaving for his village with his family. However, Yousuf, Hashim and Hussain Bux Mari, the sons of the landlord, attacked the peasant family with axes. As a result Bakhtawar died on the spot and her parents sustained serious injuries. They were brought to the Civil Hospital here where they were admitted.

The police have registered a murder case on the complaints of Shaikh against the landlord and his sons and arrested Hashim. Our Hyderabad bureau adds: Green Rural Development Organization activists held a protest demonstration outside the press club here on Friday against the murder of Bakhtawar.

Speaking on the occasion, People's Party Parliamentarian leader Jam Saqi and others demanded that the accused should be immediately arrested.