SUKKUR: A market area housing a flour mill and shops was attacked, vandalised and set on fire by a gang of dacoits in the Haji Saleem Khan Khoso village, falling within the Tangwani police station of KandhkotKashmore district on Sunday.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Mir Subh Sadiq Khan Khoso, who owns several of the destroyed shops, told the media that the ringleader of the gang, Munawwar Bahelkani, had for some time been threatening him with such an attack. He said Bahelkani was demanding extortion money and although he was being persuaded to `make a deal` through influential elders of Tangwani, he sent his gangsters to carry out the attack without waiting for such an arrangement.

Soon after the attack, Behelkani released his statement on the social media threatening to kill Mir Subh Sadiq and his son next `if PPP leadership could not persuade him to start paying protection money to him [Bahelkani]`.

The PPP leader said that the armed gangsters stormed their way into the market and flour mill and went on the rampage. They vandalised several shops, destroyed fixtures and furniture and set them on fire while terrorising those present there by resorting to heavy firing into the air. They escaped from the area without facing any resistance from police or the affected people, he added.

Officials at the Tangwani police said that a police party visited the market and went after the gangsters along with many villagers.

However, they said, the attackers sped away and disappeared into the nearby riverine area.

Mr Khoso claimed that the attackers caused a loss of over Rs2.5m to him alone.

He further claimed that Bahelkani`s gangsters had also fired shots on his house before attacking the market.

He revealed that Bahelkani had been harassing him over phone for some time by accusing him of instigating police to launch an operation against his gang. He said Bahelkani believed that he [Mr Khoso] used to provide police tip-offs about his gang`s activities.

Protest against police A large number of citizens continued their protest for the fourth day running at Ghanta Ghar Chowk against extortion, killings and incompetence of district police in maintaining peace in Kandhkot-Kashmore district.

The protesters raised charged slogans `The land of peace desires peace`, `Stop the massacre of innocent citizens` and `End this lawlessness and massacres`.

Leaders of All Parties Movement and Citizen Alliance, which jointly organised the protest, told media persons that the district had been handed over to criminals and extortionists.

`No one intervenes when criminals commit crimes or open fire to create terror and get extortion,` they said, adding that police had failed to rein in outlaws involved in murders of and injuries to Aneesh Kumar, labourer Adam Sheikh, Zahoor Marhato, Saddam Khoso and driver Mukhtiar Buriro, among others, who were killed within a week.

They said that the ongoing operation was merely eyewash, with no effective police action and satisfactory result. Authorities, elected representatives and rulers remained silent spectators while citizen were made to live in fear, they said.

They said that killers were free to commit crimes, while families of victims and terrorised citizens were on the streets to seek justice.

`Through our protest, we demand that the authorities restore peace in Kandhkot, eliminate criminals and stop this tribal terrorism,` they said.