Armed clash between two clans claims 8 lives in Sindh's Dadu

HYDERABAD: Eight individuals were killed while two others were injured in an armed clash between two groups of the Chandio clan in Dadu district in the early hours of Sunday.

According to a police report, the feud between the two sides was the result of an “ongoing blood feud and disputes regarding the use of a common passage and other land-related matters”. The incident took place in the jurisdiction of the Jhallo police station.

Hyderabad Range Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Tariq Dharejo confirmed the incident, adding that the deceased were wanted in some criminal cases by police as well. Out of eight deceased, two belonged to Sikandar Chandio’s group, and six belonged to Ali Akber Chandio’s side.

He said that efforts had been underway to bring about reconciliation between the two sides, but in vain.

The deceased from Sikandar Chandio’s group were identified as Usman Chandio’s son Deedar Ali and his brother, Gul Bahar. Usman’s son Mumtaz and Kehar Khan Chandio’s son Ghulam Qadir were injured from the group.

Meanwhile, the deceased from Ali Akbar Chandio’s side included Gahi Khan’s son Fida Hussain; Zulfiqar alias Watani, son of Mohammad Waris Chandio; Mohammad Bachal, son of Mohammad Bux Chandio; Akbar Chandio’s sons Sultan and Manzoor; and Arshad alias Hajjan, son of Usman Chandio.

The deceased and injured were shifted to the Dadu District Headquarters Hospital.

DIG Dharejo said that the two sides had exchanged gunshots on several occasions in the last three years because they were at loggerheads. These clashes had earlier also caused the deaths of two persons each from both sides. Nine others had received injuries, while their cases were pending in court.

He noted that among the deceased, Gul Bahar was involved in eight cases, Fida Hussain in one, Zulfiqar in seven, Bachal in 11, Manzoor in five and Arshad alias Hajjan in one case as per police record. Injured Ghulam Qadir was involved in two cases.

Dadu Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Mir Saddam told Dawn that the incident took place Sunday morning when Ali Akbar Chandio’s men attacked Sikandar Chandio-Khan Mohammad Chandio side, leading to a fierce clash and ending up in multiple deaths.

He added that some arrests have been made by police and weapons were recovered. The bodies from both sides were unburied as of Sunday evening.

SSP Saddam disclosed that Ali Akbar Chandio wanted to avenge the killing of his school-going nephew because Ali Akbar’s brother had not agreed to the reconciliation proposal involving Khan Mohammad Chandio.

He said that the area where casualties took place was mostly a riverine area.

“Police have been deployed there to control the situation from escalating any further,” he said.