VEHARI, Dec 3: Locals held a demonstration and blocked Luddan-Burewala Road for around eight hours on Wednesday to protest the kidnapping of a Class-VII girl student from Kachi Pakki locality in Luddan police precincts, some 40km away from here, late on Tuesday.

Around 300 Kachi Pakki residents also staged a rally and chanted slogans against police for not taking a swift action.

The police, however, have registered a case against 10 suspects and started conducting raids to arrest them.

The protesters also pelted stones on passing vehicles, injuring some of the passengers, before staging a sit-in in front of the patrolling police post near the village.

Burewala SDPO Haji Ilyas, Luddan SHO Aslam Ghuman and other officials reached the spot and made the protesters lift the road blockade.

At about 2am on Wednesday, assailants riding on four motorbikes came and entered the house of Amin Meo, a labourer, and kidnapped his 12-year-old daughter, Shazia.

When Shazia’s parents resisted, the assailants tortured them and later shot at and injured Amin. He received a bullet in his leg and was taken to the DHQ Hospital.

Talking to Dawn, Amin said the locals immediately informed patrolling police post in-charge Saeed Gujar, an assistant sub-inspector, about the incident, but he refused to take any action.

He alleged that the assailants resorted to aerial firing for around half of an hour before fleeing, but the police did not reach the spot.

He said he was a poor man and had no enmity with any one. He appealed to Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to take action against the kidnappers and negligent police officials.

Luddan SHO Aslam Ghuman said they had registered a case against Aslam, alias Achha, Mazhar, alias Mazhri, and their eight unidentified accomplices under sections 365-B, 324, 148 and 149 of the Pakistan Penal Code. He said the police were trying to arrest the kidnappers and several teams had been formed to conduct raids.

DPO Asher Hameed said they would take strict action against the suspects.