JACOBABAD, Sept 18: A strike was observed in several towns of upper Sindh and Balochistan on Sunday to protest against kidnapping of a Hindu girl by a group of armed men five days ago. On the call of the president of the Hindu General Panchayat, Baboo Mahesh Kumar and the president of the chamber of commerce, all shops and business centres remained closed in Jacobabad.

A big protest procession was taken out under the aegis of the Hindu Panchayat which was participated by hundreds of people.

People’s Party Parliamentarians MNA Ramesh Lal and MPA Mukesh Chawla led the protesters.

The procession started from the Hindu Panchayat hall and passing through different roads stopped at the DCO chowk.

The members of the community staged a sit-in and observed a token hunger strike.

They blocked the road for two hours.

They raised slogans against police’s failure to recover the kidnapped girl, Sapna.

Speaking on the occasion, MNA Ramesh Lal, MPA Mukesh Chawla, Baboo Mahesh and the Sindh general secretary of the PPP (minority wing), Dr Mahar Chand, condemned what they called the indifference of police.

They said it was injustice with the Hindus that police did not take any action all these days to recover the girl.

They warned if the district administration failed to recover the girl within 48 hours as assured by DPO Qayoom Pitafi, a strong protest would be held in the district as well as in Sindh and Balochistan.

Our Sukkur correspondent adds: Following the kidnapping of the girl, who reportedly has embraced Islam and renamed as Mehak after marriage with a Muslim boy, the Hindus of upper Sindh and Balochistan observed a shutter-down strike in Kandhkot, Kashmore, Guddu, Buxapur, Budani, Ghouspur, Tangwani, Karampur, Thull, Mirpur, Garhi Khairo, Shikarpur, Khanpur, Garhi Yasin, and some towns of Balochistan including, Jhat Pat, Dera Murad Jamali, Suhbatpur and Usta Mohammad.

Talking to journalists, the president of the Hindu Panchayat, Baboo Mahesh said police were not cooperating with them and they were being treated as the third class citizen.

He threatened that if Sapna was not recovered shortly a complete shutter-down strike would be observed in the entire Sindh and Balochistan.

Gianchand, the father of Sapna, told the newsmen that his daughter was kidnapped at gunpoint.

He demanded that his daughter should be handed over to him so that he may ask her whether she left home with her own will.

He said if she wanted to go back, he would let her go.