HYDERABAD: Family members of Mir Nasir Talpur and Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur, who were critically wounded in the April 7 firing by Rangers personnel in Chhachhro taluka of Mithi district, have urged the higher authorities to help them lodge an FIR of the incident and order a judicial inquiry.

They also appealed to the president, prime minister, chief justice of Pakistan and the army chief for protection, saying that they were receiving threats and being asked not to pursue the case.

Mir Nasir succumbed to his wounds in a Karachi hospital on April 9 while Mir Mohammad Ali, who received bullet wounds in his neck, is fighting for life in the Hyderabad Civil Hospital. They were among a five-member hunting team engaged in the game when the incident took place. Their three companions travelling in the jeep that was fired upon by the Rangers were detained by the paramilitary troops and later handed over to the Khensar police of Chhachhro taluka.

There have been conflicting accounts of the incidents. The Rangers in a statement issued several days after the incident claimed that they noticed a suspicious vehicle moving in a sensitive are close to their post and the international border.

They said they intercepted the vehicle and cautioned the occupants that they had intruded into an area gaming was not allowed and which was a sensitive area. They further claimed that the occupants of the jeep opened fire to escape arrest and the Rangers men returned the fire. The affected families, however, rejected their claim and said the Rangers were not attacked and that the soldiers used their guns without any reason.

Speaking at a press conference at the local press club on Sunday, Mir Waqar Ali Talpur, brother of deceased Nasir Talpur, and Mir Ali Raza, brother of Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur, said that Rangers had taken different positions in the FIR and their official statement.

In the FIR, they admitted that the vehicle occupants were found hunting in the area, but in the press statement they claimed the vehicle (jeep) was seen moving in a sensitive area; its occupants were signalled by them [Rangers] to stop; and instead of stopping the vehicle, the occupants opened fire on Rangers, who then returned the fire, they said.

Mir Waqar argued that the vehicle occupants possessed the weapons that could be used only for hunting.

“Rangers have no authority to fire on anyone even if he is found involved in illegal hunting because it is the jurisdiction of the department handling the affairs relating to hunting,” he further argued.

Mir Waqar and Mir Ali Raza showed pictures of the jeep that was fired upon from the back.

They said that the SHO of the Khensar police station refused to register the FIR against the Rangers men.

They said they approached the Mithi SSP but he, too, only completed formalities but didn’t help lodge the FIR which was their legal right.

They informed the media that Mir Sajjad Talpur (cousin), Mir Adil Talpur (maternal nephew of Mir Waqar) and Hanif Rahimon (a local friend) were in police custody on remand.

They alleged that the wounded victims had not been provided medical treatment after the incident on April 7 and were kept at different locations until they were handed over to the police on April 8. Due to the delay, their condition deteriorated, they claimed.