HYDERABAD, Dec 31: Over three dozen peasants, including women and children who have reportedly escaped from the private jail of a zamindar of Sanghar, Ghulam Qadir Mari and have taken shelter at the Sikandarabad liberated hari camp, Kotri, staged a protest demonstration outside the Hyderabad press club. They raised slogans against Ghulam Qadir Mari.

Talking to reporters, Premo said that they were working on the lands of Abdul Qadir Mari for the last 25 years but he never paid them the share of agricultural produce. He said that after Mannu Bheel filed an FIR against Abdur Rehman Mari at Jhuddo police station in 1998, a strict vigilance was kept on them and they could not move about freely.

They said, on Saturday, they managed to escape from the private jail of the wadera and took shelter at the Sikandarabad liberated hari camp.

Premo, however, said that their lives were in grave danger and appealed for protection. He further said that they must be paid compensation for their 25 years of labour.

Meanwhile, Mannu Bheel also staged a protest demonstration alongwith other liberated haris outside the Hyderabad press club.

Talking to newsmen, he expressed his gratitude to the superior judiciary for taking suo moto notice of the kidnapping of his entire family by Abdur Rehman Mari. He, however, regretted that his family members had not been recovered by the police till date although he had lodged the FIR about the kidnapping of his family members as far back as May 5, 1998.

He appealed to the judiciary not to release Abdur Rehman Mari and demanded recovery of his kidnapped family member.