MITHI: A man lodged an FIR against two suspects alleging that they had kidnapped his wife with the intention of converting her to Islam.

Roji Kolhi lodged the FIR (62/2017) at the Nagarparkar police station on Friday against Mohammed Ali and Ali Nawaz, and told the police that they barged into his house in Kothara village and took away his 19-year-old wife on Thursday.

A large number of the couple’s close relatives along with other members of the Hindu community held a protest demonstration outside the police station to demand recovery of the woman and arrest of the nominated suspects. They expressed the fear that she would be converted to Islam and married off forcibly. They said the couple had solemnised marriage only on Dec 4. However, some of the area residents claimed that the woman had an affair with one of the suspects and she might have gone with him with mutual consent.

Tharparkar SSP Ameer Saud Magsi told this reporter that raids were also being conducted at their suspected hideouts in Tharparkar, Umerkot and Mirpurkhas districts to recover the woman.

Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2017