Balochistan Minister for Construction and Communications Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran has been arrested in his alleged connection with the murder of three persons, 24NewsHD TV channel reported on Wednesday.  

According to the police official, he was arrested in the DIG Police Office Quetta when he appeared before DIG in the afternoon.  

"Khetran is accused of murdering three people of Marri Tribe including a mother and two sons and that is why he has been taken into custody," police said, as the protesters continued their sit-in for the second consecutive day in Quetta demanding justice.

In an utterly inhuman and woeful incident, the three bullet-riddled bodies were found in a well in the Barkhan district on Monday. The relatives blamed the provincial minister Abdul Rahman Khetran for the killing.

According to the reports, a local Khan Mohammed used to work as a bodyguard of Abdul Rehman Khetran. But after developing some differences with Sardar he fled from Barkhan but his family was held hostage by the Sardar.

Khan Mohammad’s wife released a video message and pleaded for her family’s release from the private jail of Khetran.

In her previous request through local sources, she also said that she and her daughter were sexually assaulted by Abdul Rehman Khetran routinely.

The man, Muhammad Marri, whose three family members were murdered has accused Khetran of keeping his five other family members in a "private jail".

Hundreds of people from the Marri tribe came to the red zone of Quetta to register their protest demanding action against provincial minister for his alleged role in murders.

When the pressure grew on the police, they registered a case against unknown persons and detained Sardar Khetran.  

Earlier, a provincial police team, headed by the Loralai DIG, conducted a raid on the residence of minister Khetran in Barkhan over allegations that other family members, including children, of Muhammad Khan Marri are still in the minister’s custody.

However, the police said no hostage could be found during the raid. Police arrested two suspects from the house.

The police said raids were being carried out to recover the missing children. Anyone found involved in the high-profile case will be dealt with indiscriminately.

A police team, headed by Barkhan SP Noor Mohammad Barich, reached Kohlu on receiving information about the presence of Khan Marri’s children there.

According to the Balochistan police spokesman, the provincial police chief is investigating the incident under his supervision, and is taking steps to recover the remaining members of the victim’s family.

Meanwhile, Senator Sarfraz Bugti has submitted a resolution in the Senate secretariat, demanding to form of a new JIT in the Barkhan incident, where members of the country’s powerful intelligence and security agencies should be included.

Meanwhile, judicial and trading activities ground to a halt across Balochistan on Wednesday as lawyers and traders joined the protest by the Marri tribe.

A jirga has also been called in the wake of the Barkhan tragedy in Awan-e-Kalat.