Umme Rubab case: Suspect accused of murdering three men arrested

The Kashmore police arrested on Friday a prime accused in the triple murder of a former UC chairman and his two sons for reportedly raising voice against feudal lords.

Former UC chairman Raees Karamullah Chandio and his sons, Mukhtar and Kabil, were shot dead in Mehar on January 17, 2018. They were allegedly murdered at the behest of the chieftain of their tribe, Nawab Sardar Ahmed Chandio.

The police had registered a case against PPP MPAs Sardar Khan Chandio and Burhan Chandio, Ali Gohar Chandio, Sikandar Chandio, Ghulam Murtaza Chandio and Zulfiqar Chandio.

MPAs Sardar Khan Chandio and Burhan Chandio got interim bail. Ali Gohar Chandio and Sikandar Chandio were arrested and sent to jail.

The accused, Ghulam Murtaza Chandio and Zulfiqar Chandio, had been on the run. The Sindh police later announced Rs1 million bounty on Ghulam Murtaza Chandio.

In January 2019, the Supreme Court took suo moto notice of the triple murder when Umme Rubab, the granddaughter of Karamullah Chandio, walked barefoot to a court to seek justice.

The Sindh police sprang into action after the Supreme Court ordered them to arrest the absconders or face the music.

“We will fire all the policemen in Hyderabad if the suspects were not arrested,” Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed said during a September 2020 hearing of the case.

Sindh Inspector General Mushtaq Mahar tasked Sukkur Additional IG Dr Kamran Fazal with the arrest of the accused.

On October 29, 2020, an intelligence-based operation was conducted on the outskirts of Qambar Shahdadkot but the accused could not be arrested. IG Mahar himself supervised the operation.

An inquiry later revealed that SHO Ghaibi Dairo police station Imdad Chandio, who is the son of one of the accused Ali Gohar Chandio, had leaked the information, after which the absconders managed to escape. On November 26, 2020, the Kashmore police arrested Zulfiqar Chandio.

Umme Rubab says the arrest of the prime accused Ghulam Murtaza Chandio is indeed a "victory".

"The Sindh police came into action after I filed a petition in the Supreme Court and it started fixing hearings every fifteen days," she told SAMAA TV.

"Our fight won't end on the arrest of the absconders, but it will continue until MPA Burhan Khan Chandio and Sardar Khan Chandio land behind the bars."

The triple murder case is under trial at a Dadu model court.