HYDERABAD, Nov 25: Provincial Police Officer Asad Jehangir began an inquiry into the kidnapping of nine members of the family of Manu Bheel and recorded the statement of the peasant here on Friday.

The inquiry is being conducted under directives of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

The PPO also met Hyderabad Regional Police Officer Bachal Sangri, DIG (operations) Mazhar Shaikh and other police officers at the circuit house.

He is being assisted in the inquiry by Police Training College principal Abdul Khaliq Shaikh and SSP Fayyaz Qureshi.

He also summoned police officers who had been dealing with Manu Bheel’s case for several years.

Mr Jehangir was meeting in-service and retired policemen till evening.

Talking to journalists outside the inquiry room, he avoided giving details about the inquiry.

“I will submit a report to the apex court after completing investigations into the matter,” he said.

“The kidnapping case lodged with police since 1998,” said the PPO when asked whether Mr Bheel had managed to make out a cognizable offence of the kidnapping in his statement.

He did not comment when asked if it had been police failure that detained persons had yet not been recovered. “I cannot comment what I have felt after going through police papers of investigations so far conducted.’’

When asked whether he would go to Abdul Rehman Mari, the landlord accused of detaining Mr Bheel’s family members, or call him to the circuit house, the police officer said he would go wherever necessary and he would also go to Matli where Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s camp of liberated peasants was located.

He said if Mr Bheel sought police protection it would be provided to him.

“I will submit a report in the apex court on Dec 21,” replied the PPO when he was told that the Supreme Court had directed production of detained persons.

He said various investigations had been conducted into Bheel’s affair but without any outcome and the Supreme Court had now directed him to probe the matter.

He said the entire Sindh police would be activated in the matter if needed. He maintained that on record there were eight people who were to be found.

He said earlier investigations had not proved that Mr Bheel’s family members had been detained by someone.

Mr Bheel told the PPO that Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas police had not taken any initiative to recover members of his family and alleged that he had been pressurized by police to withdraw the case.

He also alleged that in 2203, then Hyderabad SP (investigation) Pir Farid Jan Sarhandi had tortured him and 13 other peasants and asked him to state in writing that his family members had not been kidnapped.

HRCP‘s special task force coordinator Nasreen Shakeel Pathan and HRCP member Jam Saqi also joined proceedings while Mr Bheel was recording his statement.

The apex court has taken a serious notice of the delay in recovery of Mr Bheel’s family members for seven years on an application submitted by Sweden-based human rights activist Torborg Isaksson.

After recording his statement, Mr Bheel told journalists: “I was assured of justice by the PPO after I gave him the vehicle number in which my family members had been kidnapped by the landlord.’’

He said he had been offered Rs300,000 to withdraw the case but he had refused.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement MPA Poonjomal Bheel also met the PPO but it was not known whether his statement was recorded.

He told journalists he had raised the issue in the Sindh Assembly and the Sindh governor had also taken notice of the matter but the detainees could not be recovered.

According to Mr Bheel, his family members had been kidnapped from the land of Waryyam Memon on May 2, 1998.

The hostages included Ms Akho (mother), Ms Mauta (wife) Ms Momal and Ms Dhaeli (daughter), Chaman and Kalji (sons), Jalal (brother) and Karto (relative).

Mr Bheel completed 1,000 days of his token hunger strike on Oct 8 outside the press club.