Hindu tenant farmer shot dead in Pakistan’s Sindh, sparks massive protests

The victim was identified as Kailash Kolhi. According to local media, he was killed following a dispute with his landlord, Sarfaraz Nizamani, over the construction of a shelter on agricultural land where Kolhi worked.

Witnesses told Sindh Renaissance that Kolhi had built a small hut on the land to house his family, a move that had angered Nizamani, who had allegedly issued repeated threats over the structure.

On the day of the incident, the accused reportedly opened fire, shooting Kolhi twice in the chest, killing him on the spot. The attacker fled the scene and remains at large, the news portal reported.

Following the killing, thousands of men, women and children from the Hindu community, backed by more than a dozen political, nationalist and religious parties, blocked a major road in Badin district and staged demonstrations demanding Nizamani’s immediate arrest.

Badin Deputy Commissioner Yasir Bhatti and district Senior Superintendent of Police Qamar Raza Jikani held three rounds of negotiations with protesters, led by the victim’s father, Chetan Kolhi. The demonstration ended after authorities assured that the accused would be arrested within seven days.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Chetan Kolhi alleged that Nizamani was furious and intoxicated at the time of the shooting. “I saw my son lying on the ground with bullet wounds. Nizamani and his men also pointed guns at us before escaping,” he said.

Sodhi Kolhi, a minority rights activist from Badin, told the newspaper that the killing of an innocent peasant in broad daylight was alarming, adding that police appeared reluctant to arrest the prime accused even five days after the incident.

In protest against the killing, the Badin District Bar Association boycotted court proceedings on Friday.

Meanwhile, Sindh government spokesperson Sukhdev Hemnani described the killing as a “barbaric” act.

He said the provincial government stands with the victim’s family and is in constant contact with the relatives, reported The News International.

Hemnani added that the government has taken serious notice of the incident and that law enforcement agencies have been directed to carry out a transparent and swift investigation to arrest the culprit at the earliest.