HYDERABAD, May 26: Two farmers, who claimed they had been in illegal confinement for six months, accused police and powerful landlords of kidnapping them after they sought court’s help against the landlords’ attempt to occupy their ancestral land.

Raza Mohammad and Roshan Ali, both cousins, said at a press conference at the press club on Monday that they contacted their advocate, Imran Alvi, after fleeing from the captivity and sought his help against their captors and police officials.

They said that they owned eight and a half acres of land adjacent to 40-acre land owned by Dr Jasu Mal and Nanak Ram in Hatri near Amin Halepoto village.

They said that in 2005 Dr Jasu Mal and Nanak Ram informed them that they had purchased their land, and learnt after making inquiries that the two landlords had got the land transferred in their name.

They sought court’s help against the injustice, much to the annoyance of the landlords, who threatened them with dire consequences and lodged four separate criminal cases against them at Hatri police station last year.

The farmers’ counsel said that when his clients appeared before the second additional district and sessions’ judge on Nov 22, 2007 in the cases filed against them, the investigating officer of Hatri police station Mohammad Paryal requested the court that he wanted to record their statements.

“The court asked them to accompany him and (assured) he wouldn’t arrest them in this case,” said Alvi.

The police official asked them to get into a car, which was owned by Dr Jasu Mal and being driven at the time by Esar Das, the advocate said, adding, that Dr. Jasu Mal, Nanak Ram and Esar Das were related to each other.

The farmers said that Dr Jasu Mal, Nanak Ram and his manager Fareed Chaudhry were sitting in the same car. “They whipped out their pistols and threatened that they would kill them if they raised any hue and cry.”

They took them blindfolded to a place and then locked them in a room where their captors removed the blindfold and threatened “you must have realised our power by now. You and your companions couldn’t do anything,” they quoted Dr Mal as telling them.

They said that Dr Mal said that he would kidnap all his colleagues to get possession of the land and would not set them free until they gave up possession of the land.

They gave them a telephone to tell their colleagues to vacate the land but they refused. “We were subjected to inhuman torture by their man, Hyder Wadho, during six months of captivity. One day, Hyder forgot putting lock on the door and they found an opportunity to flee,” they said.

They said that came straight to their lawyer as they were afraid of visiting a police station.

Alvi said that Raza’s mother, Ms. Darya Khatoon, had lodged an FIR at Cantonment police station on March 25 against Esar Das, Daulat Ram, Peero Mal, Nanak Ram and the in-charge of Hatri investigating police, Mohammad Paryal, but none had been arrested yet.

He said that police lodged her case only after she moved sessions court under sections 22-A and 22-B Cr.PC. “They need protection and seek action against their tormentors,” he said.