SUKKUR: A protest drive, started three days back by the Hindu Punchayat of Kandhkot-Kashmore district over disappearance of a three-year-old boy, sparked off demonstrations in neighbouring Jacobabad and Ghotki districts on Sunday.

The boy, Samrat Kumar, had gone missing from a locality, Mirzapur, in the Kandhkot-Kashmore district eight days ago. When police failed to locate the boy, the Hindu community along with the affected family, held demonstrations in the area over the next five days. His family told the police that dacoits riding a motorcycle had kidnapped the boy for ransom and took him away into the gangs-infested riverine area.

The Hindu Punchayat on Friday set up a protest camp at Ghanta Ghar Chowk in Kandhkot to press the police and provincial government to get the boy recovered safely.

Over the last two days, a large number of activists belonging to various nationalist groups and civil society organisations joined in the protest at the camp to express solidarity with the victim family and Hindu community.

Elite of the area and prominent activists including Sardar Teghu Khan Teghani, Akram Bajkani, Dilmurad Dahani, Ghulam Mustafa Mirani, Mohammad Ibrahim Khaki, Shahnawaz Marhato, Ghayal Sindhi, Comrade Abbas and Sultan Nandwani were among those who visited the camps and expressed solidarity with Dr Suresh Kumar Talreja and other Punchayat leaders.

Meanwhile, Punchayat leaders condemned the area police for their failure in checking gangsters’ activities in upper Sindh where, they noted, criminals were kidnapping men, women and children at their whim and killing their hostages. The gangsters were attacking and looting commuters without any fear, they said.

They appealed to the Sindh government and higher police authorities to take effective measures to protect the life and property of citizens.

They said all hostages, including Samrat Kumar, held by the gangs should be safely recovered and complete peace be restored in upper Sindh districts.

In Pannu Aqil, a large number of PPP-Shaheed Bhutto took out a rally and raised slogans for the recovery of the kidnapped toddler and other hostages.

In Jacobabad city also, PPP-SB activists held a similar rally, which was addressed by the party’s chief organizer Noor Mohammad Manjhu, Babul Khan Korejo, Abdul Sami Soomro, Riaz Lashari, Shahzad Soomro and others.

They deplored that police had miserably failed in establishing the writ of law in Sindh while the provincial government seemed helpless in checking dacoit gangs’ criminal activities.

“Kidnapping of men, women and children every day in the area is a slap on the face of Sindh government,” Noor Manjhu remarked, and urged it to take steps for the recovery of all hostages held by the gangs.

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2023