Page 17 · Metro - Karachi

Highway blocked in Thatta over man’s murder during brawl

THATTA: Vehicular traffic along the Thatta section of National Highway remained suspended for many hours on Monday due to a sit-in over murder of a man earlier in the day.

The family and other relatives of the man, Abdul Aziz Shaikh, took to the streets of Thatta and placed his body in the middle of the road outside the city’s civil hospital to hold the sit-in. They were demanding arrest of the killers.

Speaking to local journalists, they said that Aziz Shaikh was critically injured during a clash between two groups, one belonging to the Shaikh and the other to the Gandra community, over a petty issue in the Islampur locality of the city. They said he succumbed to his injuries during treatment at the civil hospital.

They alleged that the Gandra group was supported by an influential figure of their rival community. The protesters insisted that the group must be arrested for killing Aziz Shaikh.

A team of police officers and personnel held negotiations with the protesters after long queues of vehicles remained stuck along the road for many hours.

They assured the protesters that the alleged killers would be arrested as soon as possible. The police officers said that raids were being conducted at different places to trace out and apprehend the suspects.

On their assurance, the protesters ended their sit-in and cleared the road.

An FIR of the murder was not registered till late Monday evening.