HYDERABAD, Feb 21: A large number of villagers of Kot Dado Kamil Pandhiani, near Nasarpur, staged a march from the DPO's office to the press club here to protest against police excesses and attempts by local influential people to occupy their land.

Speaking on the occasion, Ghulam Rasool and other villagers said that the village had been bequeathed to the peasants by landlord Mohammad Kamil Pandhiani 45 years ago. However, they said that the son-in-law of the late Pandhiani was now trying to forcibly take over possession of the village with the help of another influential landlord.

They said that although a case was pending in a court, the poor villagers were being harassed by police and Siddiq Akbar Pandhiani. They appealed to the authorities to stop the ongoing constructions in front of the village till the announcement of a verdict by the court.