RAHIM YAR KHAN: Dacoits allegedly belonging to two riverine (Katcha) area gangs, in separate video messages, have claimed the responsibility for killing four relatives of a police informer in Jajja Abbasian area of Zahirpir town in Khanpur tehsil on the night of Jan 12, to avenge the killing of seven members of their gang.

In the first video message, a dacoit clad in Shalwar Qameez and a red Ajrak and Sindhi cap, introduced himself as Ranu Shar.

He congratulated the Shar tribe, saying that two of his fellow dacoits -Soomer Shar and Janu Indhar, along with their five men, were allegedly killed by Usman Chandia, an alleged police informer.

He said they have avenged the death of their fellows by killing four relatives of Chandia in an attack carried out in Punjab.

He again congratulated all his friends, including Indhar tribe for the killings.

The video clip also shows, Ranu Shar resorting to aerial firing with an automatic gun, celebrating the killings.In the second video clip, a dacoit introducing himself as Tanvir Indhar, claims that he and his gang killed the four men in Jajja Abbasian area.

He claimed that three of the murdered men were Chandia`s nephews, while the fourth was the police informer`s cousin.

He claimed that he and his accomplices remained in Basti Lashari for one-and-ahalf hours and continued firing, but police did not dare to come there.

He rejected the police claim that two dacoits of Indhar and Shar gangs were killed in an encounter, while they were escaping towards Katcha area, saying those killed by police were `unknown` persons.

He dared police to face actual dacoits, instead of staging false encounters.

RYK police spokesperson said two dacoits killed by police in an encounter were accomplices of Indhar and Machi dacoit gangs.

They belong to Kharor area of Sindh.

He said police reached Basti Chandia/Lashari in five minutes after the call on 15. He rejected claims made by relatives and dacoits that dacoits remained there in Basti Chandia from 30 minutes to one-and-a-half hour.