MIRPURKHAS, Dec 8: Manu Bheel, a peasant whose entire family is missing for a couple of years after being kidnapped by a landlord, told newsmen on Friday after the Sindh police chief called on him that he still believed that his family was being held by the landlord.

The scheduled-caste peasant accused the influential landlord, Abdul Rehman Mari, of pretending illness in police custody to obstruct interrogation.

On the other hand, Provincial Police Officer Jehangir Mirza told a press conference after meeting Manu that Abdul Rehman was not providing 'complete' information to the police due to illness.

The PPO said that Manu deserved sympathy because nine of his family members had been kidnapped.

A proposal had been submitted to the Sindh government to award Rs5 million to anyone who provided information about family members of Manu Bheel.

He said the Supreme Court had ordered recovery of Manu's family members while the case had attained importance internationally and "I have received letters from different HR organizations in Pakistan and from India, USA, Japan and Europe".

To a question, the Sindh police chief said that the former DIG of Mirpurkhas, Saleemullah Khan, was a senior police officer but he acted on a wrong information and described two women as daughters of Manu but the apex court remained dissatisfied. As a result of which, he said, DNA test of the women were conducted which disproved the former DIG's claim.

The PPO said that he was confident that Manu case would be solved soon.

MISSING MEN: To a question, he said that police were also making efforts to recover people who were mysteriously missing. He said that some of them had returned home but declined to disclose names of their kidnappers. He said that progress had been made by the police in kidnapping of three youths belonging to Khipro, district Sanghar, which revealed that it was a kidnapping for ransom case.

He said the accused would be arrested soon. He said that crime rate in Sindh has decreased and operation against dacoits would be launched in Sindh.