MIRPURKHAS, Jan 25: Four police officials of the Satellite Town police station were arrested after being booked in a custodial killing case here on Tuesday.

Groups of people angered by the incident forced shopkeepers to close their shops as the news of the death of a man in a lock-up of the police station spread in the town. They also burnt tyres on roads and pelted vehicles with stones in different areas, disrupting normal flow of traffic.

Later, SHO Mohammad Rafiq Siyal, sub-inspector Khamiso Khan, ASI Ghulam Shabbir Dasti and constable Mohammad Aslam were arrested and a murder case was registered against them on the complaint of Ali Mohammad Panwhar, father of the deceased.

DPO Mirpurkhas Altaf Hussain Bhatti also suspended the policemen. Inquiries revealed that Masood Khan, a watchman, caught one Abu Bakar Panhwar, 30, red-handed while committing theft in a shop in the town on Tuesday morning and handed him over to police.

Later, police claimed that the man committed suicide by hanging himself in the lockup. As the news of his death spread, hundreds of people, led by People's Party Parliamentarians MPAs Irfan Ali Shah and Shamim Aara Panwhar, surrounded the police station, demanding arrest of the policemen and registration of an FIR against them.

They also demanded a judicial inquiry in the matter. Later, they arrived in the city and traded fire with police, leading to closure of main markets, bazaars and shopping centres.

They also lit bonfires at the Jarwari Distributary, Chandni Chowk, bus terminal, Panwhar Colony and the Iqbal Road. Traffic remained suspended on link roads passing through the area for over seven hours.

Witnesses said policemen were also beaten by the protesters. Police failed to bring the situation under control in the area for and the angry residents roamed about the city, also beating some motorcyclists. Police arrested some protesters and took them to an undisclosed place.

Later, judicial magistrate Naushad Mughal, accompanied by advocates Mansoor Ahmad and Salahuddin Panwhar and District Public Safety and Police Complaint Commission chairman Pir Abdul Rehman Jan Sarhandi, visited the police station. Thereafter, the body was taken to the Mirpurkhas Civil Hospital for postmortem.

Talking to newsmen, the DPO said the FIR was registered as per demand of people. MPA Shamim Aara Panwhar alleged that crime rate in the district had risen since the posting of Altaf Hussain Bhatti as DPO. She demanded his removal and a judicial inquiry into the matter to ensure justice to the victim's family.