GAMBAT: Police in the interior Sindh town of Gambat have arrested a man and two women and have charged them with “intentions of adultery,” BBC Urdu reported on Saturday.

Curiously, the law-enforcers took it upon themselves to register a police case and also decided to act as witnesses to the said “crime.”

Reportedly, a video clip is doing the rounds among locals, where the man and one of the women charged by police are shown being paraded naked and are trying to put their clothes back on but are forced against it by police officials.

In a recent development, a local journalist Shafiq Khoro informed Dawn.com that the man arrested by police, Mumtaz, had been warned by locals over his antics, where he had been found drunk and involved in unethical activities by his neighbours. "On the night of the incident, between July 28 and 29, Mumtaz was once again found disrupting the peace of the neighbourhood with his activities. The people of the area called the police but by the time the law-enforcers arrived, Mumtaz had already fled. Later, police found him in his courtyard with two women. One of the women was found to be inappropriately dressed," Khoro said.

Earlier, it was reported that when the local SHO was contacted by BBC Urdu, he agreed to give an official statement on the case but was later unavailable to make comments. Meanwhile, Deputy Superintendent Police Sagheer Mughairi said he was unaware of the incident and suggested the media to contact the local police station for further information.

According to the case registered by the police, officials were informed by a “local spy” that a man called “Mumtaz” had invited two women over for sexual favours. Police officials claim that when police officials reached the site, they found a man “sitting inside a room, with his arms around two women.” Since no witnesses were present on the site to record their statements, two police officials who were part of the raid were made witnesses to the “act.”

However, as opposed to the police statement, it is believed that several eye-witnesses were present at the site and reportedly saw the police force a naked man and a woman on to the streets. While parading the couple through the streets, the police also went past “Sheikh Chowk,” which is half a kilometre away from the site of the incident. When BBC Urdu spoke to the eye-witnesses present at “Sheikh Chowk,” they said that when they showed their aversion to the police, the woman – still without clothes – was forced into a police mobile and Mumtaz was forced to walk in front of the vehicle all the way to the police station. The second woman, eye-witnesses said, was fully clothed at this point.

According to the police, Mumtaz Hussain Mir Bahar is a local trader, who managed to seek a bail from a local court. Meanwhile, both women have been sent to Larkana jail.

Mumtaz claimed his innocence to BBC Urdu and said he is being victimised by the police. He has filed a petition, which will be heard on August 8 in the Sindh High Court.

While locals have condemned the incident, no official complaint has been lodged.

Gambat is an administrative division (tehsil) of Khairpur district, which is also home to Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah. A large majority of traders is settled in the small town.