THATTA, Aug 17: A large number of growers and peasants protested the excesses of Masroor Jatoi and Murtaza Jatoi, sons of Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, and their men here on Saturday.

The protesters, including bare-footed women and children with sickles and spades in their hands, raising slogans against the Jatoi brothers and some local revenue officials, walked all the way on foot from their village, a few kilometres off Thatta town, to the district office of the Pakistan People’s Party at Soomro Manzil.

Led by Ghulam Mohammad, Faqir Mohammad and Baboo Shoro, they, in presence of newsmen, told former MNA Baboo Ghulam Hussain and former MPA Dr Abdul Wahid Soomro that they had been ploughing their land in kutcha area, Monda Hala deh, since 1970-71.

They said the land was granted to them under the then government’s policy of “Muhaga’s” (land falling adjacent to one’s land) and “Harap”.

They said Fatima Jatoi, daughter of Masroor Jatoi, Ahmad Khan Chandio, a close associate of Murtaza Jatoi, and others were also having their lands in the same area.

The protesters, all belonging to Shoro clan, said the Jatois and their men, in connivance with revenue officials, managed chicanery changes in boundaries on the record of right to usurp their land.

They said the scam surfaced recently when armed men of the Jatois stormed their lands, bulldozed their standing banana crop on 20 acres and forcibly encroached upon the land.

The protesters said the Jatois were now planning to dispossess them of their remaining land.

They dispersed on the assurance that Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi would soon be contacted and authorities concerned would also be apprised of the situation.

ARRESTED: A police party from Sukkur, in assistance of the Sujawal police, raided a village near Hajar Mori and arrested four outlaws on Saturday.