LARKANA: The district police on Saturday claimed that the three men taken away by armed gangsters while they were fishing in Shahani Lake a day earlier were recovered after an encounter in the riverine area near the Madeji area of Shikarpur district.

However, independent sources in Naudero termed the achievement “a peacefully negotiated settlement brokered by some political figures”.

One of the hostages, Deedar Ali Khakhrani, is son of Mohamad Ali Khakhrani — the party that has been awarded contract for fishing in the lake and operating the Shahani Ferry Point.

It is widely believed in Naudero, Ratodero and other areas close to the lake that the armed kidnappers belonged to the ‘Narejo-Kalhoro’ gang that was not happy over the awarding of the contract to this particular party.

Locals also claimed that the gang had been demanding ‘protection money’ from the party.

On Friday, armed men riding a motorboat sailed up to a point within the lake where Deedar Ali, along with two other persons — Suleman Mirbahar and Sikandar Mirbahar — were busy fishing. The outlaws held them hostage at gunpoint and forced them to board their motorboat, which eventually sped away. After sailing through the Indus, the boat landed near the riverine area along Madeji on the left bank of the river, according to a group of fishermen who had chased the kidnappers by several motorboats but failed to catch them despite having indulged in a gun battle with them during the chase in the river.

The hostages were then reportedly driven into a hideout within the gang-infested riverine area.

There were conflicting accounts about how the hostages were freed from the kidnappers’ custody.

According to SSP Dr Mir Rohal Khan Khoso, a strong police force was constituted on the orders of the Larkana DIG to locate and free the hostages as well as to arrest the kidnappers soon after the incident.

Naudero DSP Nisar Brohi led the force, drawn from different police stations, he said, adding that SHOs of the police stations concerned headed their respective teams. The police force had the back-up support of the Rapid Response Force (RRF), he said.

The police officers claimed that a big search and combing up operation was carried out simultaneously within the jurisdictions of the Ketti Mumtaz, Dosu Dara, Tajo Dero and Jhabar Shaikh police stations of the riverine belt on Saturday.

DSP Brohi told local journalists that “the kidnap victims were recovered after an encounter within the jurisdiction of the Jhabar Shaikh police station of Shikarpur district”.

The spokesman for the Larkana district police said in a statement that “all the three kidnap victims were freed safely without any damage”. An investigation against the suspects was under way, he said.

The spokesman also shared with the media a video showing the hostages walking free comfortably after coming out of the bushes along with some policemen.

In an earlier statement, the police had said that ‘protection money’ was the issue behind the kidnapping.

Commenting on the police claims, sources in Naudero said use of political clout in getting the hostages released could not be ruled out.

Meanwhile, a local journalist talked to one of the hostatges, Suleman Mirbahar, who narrated the ordeal. He said that the kidnappers were nine in number. “They held us hostage at gun point and blindfolded us in their motorboat, which kept sailing in the Indus for about three hours before landing in a riverine area along the left bank of the river. They were demanding Rs300,000 as ‘protection money’ to allow us fishing in the lake. We did not come to their terms and, therefore, they resorted to kidnapping us,” he said.

Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2024