UMERKOT: Scores of men and women of the Kolhi community blocked the Umerkot-Samaro road in front of Bodar Farm police station on Friday for 12 hours in protest against abduction of two minor girls of the community.

They were allegedly abducted by the armed men of their landlord. According to Shivdan Kolhi, his family was asleep at home when at around midnight five armed men barged into the home and abducted his daughters Sonari, 14, and Samjhoo Karmshi, 13, at gunpoint.

They identified two of them as Mumtaz Halepoto and Nawaz Halepoto while the other three remained unidentified. They raised an alarm and chased the suspects, but they escaped.

In the morning, around 1,000 men and women of the Kolhi community gathered at Bodar Farm police station and forced police to recover the victims.

Carrying sticks, they also blocked the Umerkot-Samaro road in front of the police station for 12 hours.

It is learnt that after the mob of the Kolhi community came into action, the Yaqoob Halepoto village was evacuated.

Umerkot SSP Rukhsar Khawar told reporters that the police had arrested three persons of the Halepoto community.

He was optimistic about recovering the girls within 24 hours.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2016