According to a news report published in The News, three labourers in Khaipur were unemployed for the last 14 days due to the lockdown imposed by the government of Sindh. They were deprived of their daily earnings, which was the only source of income for them. After watching the miseries of their starving families and losing hope in life, the three men allegedly committed suicide.
The newspaper reported that a labourer, Shahzeb Sahitto, who was a resident of Peer Muhalla in Gambat, attempted suicide by self-immolation. Another poverty stricken man, identified as Sobhal Shar, committed suicide by self-immolation. “I am a labourer who has become unemployed for the last 14 days and could not fetch a way to earn bread for my family. I endlessly visited the chairman of the union council, relatives and friends but no one offered me any help. I could not bear watching my starving children anymore so I decide to finish my life,” the report quoted as Shar’s ‘poignant’ last message.
The report noted that Riaz Muhammad Maitlo, a factory worker also died due to hunger in Khairpur. He worked in a nearby factory, but lost his job due to the lockdown. "My son has died, he cannot return," the father of Riaz said, adding that the Sindh government was responsible for their starvation.
However, DC Khairpur Muhammad Naeem in response to the tweet of journalist Talat Aslam, a senior editor of The News, said: “Dear Sir, the news story has been twisted to give it false colours. Here are the facts as they happened. Sobhal shar sat himself ablaze when he failed to convince his wife to come back home from Jhat Phat where she had gone.” While commenting on Shahzeb Sahitto’s suicide, the DC said that the deceased’s family owns more than 20 acre of land and urban property and his father is also a government employee. He said Shahzeb committed suicide due to domestic reasons not starvation.
https://twitter.com/DCkhairpurmirs/status/1248184021055651840?s=20
“Third person Riaz Maitlo-a daily wager- was sick since three weeks, his family received the ration distributed by the Govt of Sindh. He died a natural death. His two sons are bread earners as well.” Muhammad Naeem added.
https://twitter.com/DCkhairpurmirs/status/1248186950227550208?s=20