HYDERABAD, Oct 19: The Qasimabad police picked up 13 liberated Haris, including Mannu Bheel, and took them to the police station where they were severely tortured on Sunday.

A press release of the Special Task Force, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Sindh, said that a police mobile of the Qasimabad police station in a raid at the Adal Noonari Goth, Ghanjo Takar, Unit No12, Latifabad, picked up 13 Haris.

Their names were ascertained as Mannu Bheel, Mithu Bheel, Rano Bheel, Sawai Bheel, Bai (wife of Mithu Bheel), Panna (wife of Mehru Bheel), Damo Bheel, and Mehru Bheel. The remaining five were children.

They were blindfolded before being taken to the police station where they were severely tortured.

According to the HRCP, these people were being forced to give a statement that nobody had kidnapped them or rather the family members of Mannu Bheel. However, they refused to give any such statements.

Later, they were taken to the Latifabad Unit No8 police station where the DPO, Investigation, Pir Fareed Jan Sarhandi, told them that they had been taken into custody “due to some misunderstanding”. They were released about 12pm.

It may be recalled here that nine family members of Mannu Bheel, including his old parents, wife and children, were kidnapped from Jhuddo on May 2, 1998, by a landlord of Sanghar. FIR No35 of 1998 was registered at the Jhuddo police station regarding it.

Only recently, the Sindh governor, Dr Ishratul Ibad, had directed the regional police officer, Hyderabad, Ghulam Mohammad Malkani, to recover the kidnapped family.

The RPO had appointed the DPO, Investigation, Pir Fareed Jan Sarhandi, as inquiry officer.

The HRCP press release further said that the SHO, Qasimabad, had told the Haris that they had been taken into custody under the orders of Pir Fareed Jan Sarhandi and they should give a statement that Mannu Bheel’s family had never been kidnapped.

It will be relevant to point out here that Mannu Bheel has been on hunger strike ever since Jan 19 in protest against the kidnapping of his family members.