HYDERABAD, June 25: Sindh High Court, Hyderabad circuit bench, here on Tuesday set at liberty 76 bonded peasants who were produced before the court by the Badin police.

A hari, Sawan, filed a criminal miscellaneous application before the court through his lawyer, Taj Mohammad Kaimkhani, citing Chaudhry Sabir, Chaudhry Shoukat, Chaudhry Ali Hasan, Chaudhry Yasin, DPO and sessions judge, Badin and other officials as respondents.

The applicant also attached a list of the names of 77 peasants, including women and children, being held in bondage by the respondent landlords.

Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali of the SHC bench on June 13 appointed civil judge, Matli, commissioner to visit the lands/village of the private respondents with the assistance of area police to verify the truthfulness of allegations levelled by the applicant.

He directed the civil judge that if the persons, shown as detained, were found under any restraint or wrongful detention, he should ask the concerned SHO to produce them before the court on June 25.

The applicant said that he and the other peasants were purchased by the private respondents for Rs158,000 from Chaudhry Riaz Ahmed, resident of Mirpurkhas, to work as agricultural workers 10 years back and they were shifted to Chaudhry Ghulam Ali village, Roro Deh, Matli taluka.

He said that after sometime the respondent landlords began humiliating him and other peasants and stopped their wages with the result that they had to lead a miserable life.

He alleged that the private respondents also subjected the haris to compulsory labour.

He claimed that respondents put a ban on their free movement, disallowing them to move out of a specified area, and did not give them proper food.

The applicant stated in April this year he ran away from the village and filed applications before SHO, DPO and district and session judge of Badin.

He added that upon hearing of filing of applications by him, the private respondents got annoyed and through their manager, Siddiqui Nohri, kidnapped a peasant, Darhoon, and subjected him to torture.

He said that he also approached the Special Task Force of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan which subsequently forwarded his application to AIGP, Hyderabad region, and other authorities but in vain.

He said that he was hiding at different places for fear of being implicated in false cases.

He prayed the court to appoint an official of the SHC to pay surprise visit to the said village for the recovery of the detained peasants.

According to the applicant’s counsel, the haris were released by the civil judge during his visit. He added that only one peasant, Darhoon, was not found at the place.

The lawyer did not press his criminal miscellaneous application which was accordingly disposed of as the court set the haris at liberty.