HYDERABAD, Aug 17: Sindh High Court, Hyderabad circuit bench, here on Saturday issued notices to the Moondar police SHO Deedar Ali Soomro and the Sindh AAG on a constitutional petition, seeking a judicial inquiry into a fake police encounter in which a villager was killed in Dadu district on July 20.

The petition was filed by a resident of Bakhtiyar Khan Shahani village, Mevo Khan Shahani, who cited the DPO, Dadu, SHO, Moondar police, ASI Ghulam Mustafa Solangi, head moharir Wazir Ali Solangi, police constables Ali Khushik and Muharram Solangi as respondents.

The petitioner said that his brother, Khalid, and nephew, Gulzar, were coming to the Shahani village when they were encircled by five gunmen. Khalid managed to come to the village and informed his relatives that Gulzar had been caught by some bandits.

The petitioner said that he and his brothers, Gulab Shahani and Khalid, rushed to the spot. When they reached the spot the gunmen asked them not to come nearer, failing which they would shoot them. The petitioner and his brothers asked the gunmen to leave Gulzar but they refused.

When they moved forward to get Gulzar released, the gunmen opened fire on them, resulting in injuries to Gulab.

After hearing gunshots, some villagers arrived there with clubs in their hands. A fight took place between the gunmen and the villagers, during the course of which an injured armed men screamed, disclosing his identity as police constable Nizam. Later the villagers identified rest of the gunmen as those named as the respondents, except the DPO.

The petitioner said that they took Gulab to the Dadu Civil Hospital where he died.

He said that the villagers went to the police station for registration of an FIR against the respondents but the police refused to lodge the case to save the skin of their colleagues.