MIRPURKHAS, Nov 28: Scores of recently liberated brick kiln labourers held a demonstration under the banner of Green Rural Development Organisation outside the press club on Thursday in protest against disappearance of three fellow labourers.

The protesters led by Vero Kolhi, lawyer Khamiso Bheel and Ghaffar Narejo told journalists that owners of Jeo Barkat brick kiln near Karachi hotel in Samaro taluka had kidnapped Vishnu, Dewo and Jojo Kolhis.

They said that they were liberated from the same kiln under a court order after Shremti Pali Kolhi submitted an application to the district and sessions court of Umerkot, complaining about 50 labourers, including women and children, working as bonded labour at the kiln.

Samaro police conducted the raid on Nov 20 and recovered 47 labourers but failed to find any clue to Vishnu, Jojo and Dewo who were taken away to an unknown place by the owners well before the raid, they said.

Ayaz Khan, manager of the brick kiln, told Dawn the three labourers had borrowed money from the owners to participate in a marriage ceremony and left the area on Nov 13. They had not returned since, he added.

He dismissed the allegations levelled on the kiln owners as false and said the kiln had been regularly paying wages to all its workers.