HYDERABAD, Aug 23: The Sindh High Court, Hyderabad circuit bench, here on Friday, directed the District Police Officer (DPO), Dadu, to conduct an inquiry into the death of a villager during a police encounter in Dadu district on July 20, in the jurisdiction of Moondar police station.

The order was passed after the Additional Advocate General, Sindh, Masood A.Noorani, submitted the statement of ASI, Ghulam Mustafa Solangi, a respondent in the petition.

The police official claimed that the petitioner himself was involved in the case.

The court observed that it does not appear from the comments filed by the ASI that the petitioner himself was involved in the offence.

The court ordered that a copy of the petition and the telegram of the petitioner should be sent to the DPO, Dadu, for holding an inquiry into the matter.

The court said the report of the inquiry should be submitted within 3 weeks, before the additional registrar of the court.

The court had issued notices to the SHO of Moondar police station , Deedar Ali Soomro, and the Additional AG, Sindh on the constitutional petition, seeking judicial inquiry of the police encounter in which a villager, Gulab Shahani, the brother of the petitioner, was killed on July 20 in Dadu district.

Mevo Khan Shahani, a resident of village, Yakhtiyar Khan Shahani, had filed the petition, involving the DPO, Dadu, ASI, Ghulam Mustafa Solangi, Head Moharir, Wazir Ali Solangi, police constables, Ali Khushik and Muharram Solangi, and the SHO of the police station, Moondar as respondents.

The petitioner claimed that the police officials narrated quite a false story regarding the killing

He said that the family members and relatives of the petitioner had been booked by the police in the case while his counter FIR was not being lodged.

He requested the court to order a judicial inquiry into the incident.

He also demanded that the police should be barred from harassing his family.