Godhra death toll tops eight

Four more persons including a woman, who sustained bullet wounds in an armed clash at Godhra on Sunday evening, succumbed to their injuries in hospital on Monday, taking the death toll to eight. According to police and eyewitnesses, the clash that sparked between Sunni Tehreek and banned SSP after the targeted killing of ST worker Noor Muhammad Qadri at Sector 11-G Godhra, claimed eight lives including a woman.
Police said the armed clash left Ismail, Bilal and Ayub dead on the spot while Rizwana Suleman, Mohammad Ayub, Hafizullah and Yousuf succumbed to their injuries during treatment at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH). They said heavy contingent of police and Rangers were deployed at the area to avert any untoward incident. The funeral prayers of the deceased were offered at different mosques of the area. Later, the participants of the funeral processions staged sit-in at main artery of the area and chanted slogans against the criminals and LEAs.
Taj Hanafi, spokesman for banned SSP condemned the incident and demanded arrest of culprits. He denied arrest of any activist of his organisation by LEAs during search operation. Similarly, ST leader Shakeel Qadri also condemned the incident and demanded of the government to initiate surgical operation against the outlawed organisation.