SUKKUR, Dec 23: Partial shutter-down strike and demonstrations continued on the third consecutive day on Thursday in protest against increase in crimes in Ghotki and non-recovery of kidnap victims. Protests were held by the people of Ghotki on a call of the chairman of Shehri Ittehad Ghotki, Allah Wasayo Ghoto, and Qaisar Zaman Pathan.

Shopkeepers and other citizens staged demonstrations in front of Ghotki police station.

Talking to local journalists, Allah Wasayo Ghoto and Qaisar Zaman Pathan said that Ghotki district had become a safe haven for criminals because police had failed to play its role to control crimes. Citizens were feeling insecure due to inattention of the district administration, they said.

They alleged that 10 persons Shamsuddin, Zaheer Chachar, Bashir Qambrani, Muhammad Anwer Kalhoro and others were kidnapped from Ghotki district. They said that a boy of Hindu community, Shewan Kumar, was also kidnapped by robbers more than two weeks ago in Khanpur district but police did not make efforts for their recovery.

According to reliable sources, including some business community leaders, the strike is being used as tactics to settle score with Ghotki police because police had arrested Sahib Dino Ghoto and Lal Bux Ghoto for their involvement in the incidents of bomb blasts on railway tracks in different parts of Sindh, including Ghotki and Mirpur Mathelo, Ranipur, Mehrab Pur and other areas.

They want to save their skin.

Police sources disclosed that in the recent past, they had launched a crackdown on operators of 'AKRA' and prize bond slips because people had been complaining about the establishment of such gambling shops which left many people bankrupt.