RAHIMUAR KHAN:
Dacoits belonging to notorious Indhar Gang on October 10, 2021 allegedly gunned down nine men at a petrol pump near Chowk Mahi, near the Sindh border, for informing police about their criminal activities and hideouts.As per police, the gunmen of Indhar gang arrived at the petrol pump on three motorcycles, led by Janu Indhar, and forced their entry into the manager’s office where eight men of their rival group
were present. Police said the gunmen opened indiscriminate fire, killing Munawar Indhar, Ghulam Nabi Indhar, Sharif Indhar, Farooq, Nazir, Ahmed, Pir Baksh, Zaheer and Dadoo, an employee at the petrol
pump, on the spot. As per local sources, the petrol pump where the nine men were shot dead in broad daylight was located near Daoodwala police check post.The sources said the area, not far from the Indus katcha area, had become a lawless territory since long, where dacoits gangs were operating audaciously and kidnapping for ransom was a routine. They said people of the area, including businessmen of Sadiqabad tehsil, had repeatedly requested the RYK district police
officer to control the increasing crimes in the area, but to no
avail. According to some media men working in the area, the district police had negotiated with the Indhar Gang some weeks back and offered the gang safe passage if its members laid down arms and started a normal life. A video clip of the notorious Indhar Gang is doing the rounds where the gang has threatened that they will kill more people. Dadu says they have already killed inspector Mumtaz Billa.In
these circumstances local journalists were facing difficulties to report from both police and dacoit gangs.A local reporter Saleem Tarhaili who is associated with Daily Khabrian Multan told that he did not face any pressure from dacoits on reporting the murder of nine persons at Chowk Mahi but felt some panicHe said that he always reports fairly and displays the truth.He said that ten days before this incident Janu Indhar ring leader of Indhar Gang called him and
said that he was calling from his agriculture land near Mahi Chowk. He
instructed the Terhaili that he wants to appeal the Inspector General
Punjab police that he wants peace in the area after an apology. Janu asked Terhaili that he publish his statement in his newspaper which he did. Terhaili further told that when he shared his post about this
activity of call by a dacoit on Facebook,police and security branch officials asked him to share its screen shot.Terhaili added that during reporting in Kacha area, mostly journalists feel fear and
unsecure.He said that his first priority during reporting in dangerous
Kacha area, was his life.He told that if the dacoit gangs share their any video clip, he shares that with his mediahouse otherwise he feels unsafe. Terhaili said that Kaxha Karachi, Javha Machka, Kacha Noor
Shah, Kacha Fatehpur and Machka Bund were the most crucial areas where
he could not complete his reporting. Another journalist of Kot Sabzal Hakim Sanjarpuri told that he was facing much hardships while covering
the stories of dacoit gangs.He told that when he reports about dacoits, he faces reaction from police that he is the facilitator of
dacoits. He said that he relizes more threats from police not from dacoits. When a journalist of his area reports facts against any feudal, police harasses him. Journalist face false FIRs against them. He further told that once a local journalist of Sanjarpur Salim Ahmed reported about the increasing crime in the area, A station house officer of Kot Sabzal arrested him after infolving in a false FIR. Few months back a journalist of Bhong Asghar Jafrey highlighted an issue of encroachment in the area of a politician, Jafery faced torture from police and later he was arrested by police in a false FIR. The court released Jafery but when he approached ASP Bhong circle for registration of an FIR against his false case, police was not registering his case. Many times his colleagues face threats from landlords on cell phones that not write the facts.Muhammad Wasim Rao a journalist of Ahmedpur Lama said that in the river bed of Indus,the
reporting was very dangerous due to existing dacoit gangs in the
area. He said that this area exists in four different districts of Punjab and Sindh so the reporting in their jurisdiction was another problem. He further told that in this Kacha area he always travel with other companions because there was danger of kidnapping by dacoit
gangs any time. In this area police had failed and how journalists could perform their duties, he said. He added that in past police officers took the journalists with them during any operation but now
due to increasing danger, he reports about the press release issued by
the public relations officer so he could not write facts about the circumstances. A local journalist of Got Machi area Dhani Baksh Mahar told that he never faced any threat neither from dacoits nor police
however he faces many difficulties regarding his whereabouts. He said
that when he informs police that he was going to Kacha area for reporting, the dacoits get his information from the police and that was astonishing for him.General secretary of Rahim Yar Khan Union of Journalists Mian Sajjad Aslam Chaudhary told that the union had raised the issues of local journalists in the meeting with PFUJ. He said that a journalist Wasim Chaudhary received threats from some real estate bigwigs but on the immediate reaction of union, the influientials opoligsed from journalist. Union was addressing the safety issues of local and regional reporters also, he added.
