Fighter or fodder?

Differently-abled policemen deputed to fight notorious Kacha dacoits

Karachi: Can you beat it? Sindh Police posted 21 disabled personnel along with 571 to combat the criminals and terrorists in the Indus delta, generally known as Kacha areas in upper Sindh.

Altaf Ali Soomro, a disabled policeman who was injured in an operation and lost an eye in 2012, talking to Bol said, “I was appointed in Sukkur Police in 2009 and during an encounter in Al-Asif chowki at Sohrab Goth, I was hit by a rocket and lost my arm.”

Giving details, he said that he was again sent to Khairpur on emergency duty where during an encounter he received bullets in both legs. He had no money for the treatment so he took a loan and later appealed to the department to send him back to Shikarpur but the case is still pending.

“Now I have been deployed for operation in Kacha. Without an arm and an eye, how would I be able to encounter the most dangerous dacoits of the region?” Altaf Ali Soomro added while requesting the officials to look into the matter and send him back to his Shikarpur region.

Abdul Wahab, a serving disabled officer in Hyderabad is also worried about his sudden transfer to a Kacha cleanup operation area. He says, “I walk with the help of crutches. How will I be able to fight the robbers?” He requested Inspector General Sindh Police to reconsider his appointment.

The police department refuses to consider such transfers as non-serious. According to an official, such mistakes are made at the time of appointments, but after the identification of disabled personnel, their names will be withdrawn.

While all the operations have failed to ensure the writ of the state in the Kacha area, another large-scale operation has been launched by the Sindh Police and the force includes 21 disabled personnel, raising questions on the seriousness of the department towards the matter.

According to details, Sindh Police decided to launch an operation after the killing of five policemen including two officers, in an attack by armed bandits in the Kacha area near Ghotki, Ubauro on November 6.

The police party was camping in the Kacha area of Rawanti to ensure the recovery of 3 abducted children from Ubauro a few days ago. More than 150 armed bandits attacked a police post in the Ubauro Ronti area of Mirpur Mathilo. The policemen killed include DSP Ubauro Abdul Malik Bhutto, SHO Mirpur Mathilo Abdul Malik Kamangar, SHO Deen Muhammad Leghari and two policemen namely Jatoi Patafi and Deen Muhammad.

According to reports, the dacoits took away the dead bodies of the policemen but returned after a few hours. For the past two decades, Rawanti has been a no-go zone for the police and the general public. Dacoits are said to be in large numbers and armed with modern weapons such as anti-aircraft guns and rocket launchers.

After the death of dacoit Salto Shar, the bandits were continuously threatening revenge. Sanaullah Shar, a dacoit, accepted responsibility for the killings, claiming it was in retaliation for the death of Salto Shar.