Balochistan police urge against paying heed to ‘rumours’ after 3 bullet-riddled bodies found from well in Barkhan

The inspector general of Balochistan police on Tuesday took notice of the grisly discovery of three bullet-riddled bodies from a well in the Barkhan district area and vowed no leniency for those involved in the incident.

The victims, a woman and two men, were identified by the police as Giran Naz, age 40-45, wife of Khan Mohammad Marri and her two sons Mohammad Nawaz, aged 20-25, and Abdul Qadir, aged 15-20.

According to a police statement, the bodies, which were in sacks, were found yesterday (Feb 20) at around 8pm. The SHO of Barkhan Police Station was informed about the corpses in the well.

“As soon as the SHO was informed about the incident, he immediately reached the site with his police party,” the statement said

The bodies were then taken out of the well and taken the Civil Hospital Barkhan. They were identified by Abdul Qayoom Bijrani Marri, whom the police described as an heir. The bodies were handed over to him after legal processing.

In a separate statement issued earlier today, provincial police spokesperson Muhammad Aslam said the bodies had been retrieved from the well and taken to a nearby hospital for medico-legal formalities.

He urged people to not pay heed to any rumours regarding the incident and wait for the police findings.

“A high-level impartial investigation committee will be conducted in consultation with the families of victims whose bodies have been recovered from [the well ] in Barkhan,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

The statement said the slain persons were apparently sprayed with bullets. It is not clear if a case has been filed at this point.

According to a report, January was the deadliest month since 2018, in which 134 people lost their lives — a 139 per cent spike — and 254 received injuries in at least 44 militant attacks across the country.

Earlier this month, a Coast guard was martyred and seven others were injured in a landmine explosion and subsequent ambush by armed militants in the Jiwani area of Gwadar district.

On Feb 6, seven people were injured in two terrorist attacks in Quetta.