SUKKUR: Several hundred Hindus belonging to the Bagri clan took out a rally, held a protest demonstration for hours and surrounded the car of a former lawmaker in Jacobabad on Monday against police failure to recover a teenage girl of their community who they said had been kidnapped and was being forced to convert.

Rani Bagri, who sold clothes in the neighbourhood, went missing about a week ago and her family has been protesting since the very next day against police failure to help locate her.

After a few days, the family lodged a case against Sarwar Abro at the Saddar police station, claiming that he had kidnapped her and was forcing her to convert. Abro left his home to escape arrest.

Sources in the area said that Rani Bagri had since embraced Islam at the Dargah Bharchundi Sharif near Daharki town of Ghotki district and had also changed her name to Rani Khatoon. It is, however, not known if she had got married, according to the sources.

On Monday, the Bagri clan organised a huge rally from Shaheed Allah Bukhsh Park to condemn the local administration and the area police for not cooperating with them in the recovery of the girl.

The protesting men, women and children marched through the streets of the city and held a sit-in in front of the local press club. They also surrounded former MNA Mir Babul Khan Jakhrani’s car and raised slogans against the government, the police and the local administration.

Mr Jakhrani spoke to them and held out the assurance that he would do his best to help recover the girl.

Later, the protesters blocked the DC Office Road for two hours causing disruption in vehicular traffic.

The girl’s father, Arjan Das, along with his seven other children, told the media that forcing his daughter to convert was against the teachings of Islam. He said he had no grudge against Muslims but he did not approve of the act of taking away his daughter. He alleged that Abro and his brothers had kidnapped the girl. He said the police did register a case but were doing nothing to locate his daughter and arrest the suspects.

He appealed to the influential figures and elected representatives of the area to make sincere efforts to locate his daughter.

Jacobabad SSP Farooq Ahmed Jamali could not be reached for his comment while the area police said they had been raiding different places over the past week to apprehend the suspect or recover the girl but in vain.