SUKKUR, March 15: The SHO of Ghotki police station, Aijaz Dharejo, appeared in the court of the District and Session Judge on Thursday and denied, in a written statement, that Raza Mohammad (Rajesh Kumar) was in his custody.

Rajesh Kumar, who had embraced Islam after marrying Saman Shah of Faisalabad, was reported to be in police custody and being forced to divorce his wife Saman Shah of Faisalabad.

Petitioner Anwar Lohar, a lawyer who is also a human rights activist, contested the SHO’s statement, saying the boy was in police custody and had been shifted to an unknown place after media flashed the story.

Rajesh Kumar, a resident of Loralai (Balochistan), embraced Islam three months ago, on the suggestion of Saman Shah, in Quetta at the hands of Maulvi Anwar-ul-Haq Haqqani.

He was renamed Raza Mohammad. He and Saman Shah had fallen in love on the internet.

After marriage they settled down in Ghotki.

Parents of Saman Shah came to Ghotki last month and with the help of some influential figures, got Raza Mohammad arrested. They then went home with their daughter.

Anwar Lohar told Dawn he would file a petition in the Sindh High Court’s Sukkur bench on Monday for recovery of Raza Mohammad.

Despite police denial to arrest Rajesh, journalists found him locked up in a room in Ghotki police station.