MIRPURKHAS, Jan 28: A police party from Sanghar, mostly in plainclothes, carried out raids on the houses of office-bearers of different NGOs and a journalist on Wednesday after a complaint lodged by a landlord against them on Monday.

Thakur Nazeer Kaimkhani accused Ms Zahida Detho, coordinator of NGOs Network, Kanji Ranomal Bheel, coordinator of HRCP core group, Wajid Leghari of Noujawanan Sindh Samaji Sangat and Abdul Rehman Rin, a reporter of a Sindhi daily, of blackmailing him over bonded labour.

Thakur had drawn much attention by the press after the rights activists and NGOs accused him and his son of running a private jail at their farm and keeping more than 70 people in wrongful confinement.

Police, however, failed to arrest them because they were not present at their houses.

Meanwhile, activists of different NGOs held a rally in protest against registration of FIR. The protesters reached the press club where they blocked Umerkot-Mirpurkhas road for some time.

Asghar Narejo, Zeeshan Leghari, Sher Mohammad Solangi and others condemned Thakur and raids by Sanghar police.

They demanded that the government take serious notice of the issue and dispose of the FIR, which they claimed, was full of false allegations.

They demanded that the government appoint Hyderabad DIG Sanaullah Abbasi or Mirpurkhas DPO Muneer Ahmed Shaikh as investigation officer to probe the case.

Police lodged Thakur’s case on Monday on the orders of the Sanghar district and sessions court. Thakur denied running a private jail and said that FIRs lodged against him had been disposed of by courts.