SUKKUR March 26: At least four persons were killed and several others were injured on Wednesday after two groups of the Choliani tribe clashed over a piece of land near Karampur in Jacobabad district.

The DPO, Jacobabad, Agha Tahir, said that four persons belonging to both the groups had been killed while six or seven persons had sustained injuries in the armed clash.

According to people contacted by this correspondent, members of the Choliani group had refused to hand over two of the dead bodies to the relatives of the deceased.

They said the area had been tense for the past many months after a clash occurred between the groups of Nawab Choliani and Nazir Choliani over a dispute over the possession of land.

They said that the gunbattle had raged for at least five hours, adding that the police, which had rushed to the area, had silently watched the incident.

Eyewitnesses said that members of both the groups remain entrenched and were not allowing anyone to enter in the area.

The persons, who had been killed in the incident, have been identified as Afzal son of Najamuddin, Abdul Jabbar, son of Najamuddin, (both brothers belonging to the Nazir Choliani group), Piyaro Choliani and Noor Choliani (belonging to the Nawab Choliani group).

Two of the injured were identified as Jawary Choliani and Fatehdin Choliani. Both of them were later shifted to the taluka hospital, Kandhkot, while the other injured were removed to a hospital in Rahimyar Khan.

THREE ARRESTED: The Kandhkot police on Wednesday arrested three men who were nominated in the kidnapping case of a trader.

Those arrested were identified as landlord Haider Ali Kakhrani, Mohammad Hassan Jakhrani and Amar Lal. The other accused in the case are Raj Kumar, Malguzar Jakhrani and Hawaldar Dahani.

Five persons, who came in a car (6224) on Wednesday morning, raided an Anaj Mandi and at gunpoint kidnapped trader Kelash Kumar.

The police found the car in a bungalow of a landlord.