RAHIM YAR KHAN  -  Rahim Yar Khan police on Thursday claimed have killed six members of Indhar Gang in an encounter in Kacha Kash­more, Machka area.

Two dacoits also sustained injuries in the alleged encoun­ter. The gang was responsible for killings of nine people, and its ring leader, Janu Indhar, was among those killed. 

Initially, the RYK police report­ed that Janu Indhar and three other accomplices were killed in a targeted and intelligence-based operation. However, the encounter later led to the death of six gang members, includ­ing Munshi Indhar, Sumra Shar, and Kaata Shar. The encoun­ter, which took place between Kashmore and Kandhkot, was claimed by both RYK police and Sindh police as a major success in eliminating the criminal gang. The slain dacoits were “wanted” by both Punjab and Sindh police, with head money of Rs 20 mil­lion each on Janu Indhar and other gang members by the Sindh government.

However, conflicting reports emerged from social media and a TikTok channel run by Shahid Lund, the ring leader of Lund Gang. Lund claimed that the killings were not a police encounter but rather an inter­nal matter among the dacoits. He stated that a member of the gang, Chandia, invited the Ind­har Gang for a dinner in Pacca area. After the dinner, Chandia turned on the gang members, killing six of them and injur­ing two children. Chandia was later killed by the hosts while attempting to escape. Amidst the conflicting narratives, the police operation in the Kacha area continues with a signifi­cant budget allocated by both the Punjab interim govern­ment in Rahim Yar Khan and the Sindh government in Ghot­ki and Kashmore districts. The encounter has raised questions about the veracity of police claims and the need for trans­parency in such operations.

The incident has garnered attention from the public and media, with some questioning the release of reward money to the police, as the encounter may not have been a genuine encounter but rather a result of an internal conflict among the dacoits. The situation high­lights the challenges and com­plexities in dealing with crimi­nal gangs and underscores the importance of thorough inves­tigations to ensure justice and accuracy in such cases.