SUKKUR: Gangsters believed to be members of the notorious Mitho Shah gang abducted two policemen along with their official weapons after storming the Khalid Nawaz Jakhrani check-post in the Jagir area within the jurisdiction of the Mauladad police station in Jacobabad district late on Saturday night.

Jacobabad SSP Dr Sumair Noor Channa denied reports of the abduction but later a video uploaded on social media by Mitho Shah confirmed the policemen’s kidnapping.

In the video, Mitho Shah could be heard denying that he had kidnapped Furqan Ali Soomro from Osta Mohammad and killed six Balochistan police officials, including a sub-inspector, five days back at Chand Shakh.

He said that police had picked up some women of his family as well as other women belonging to 15 to 20 Jakhrani families during raids on their villages in the Jagir area. “We ask Jacobabad police to release our women by Saturday evening, otherwise we will send to them dead bodies of the abducted police officials,” warned Mitho Shah.

He demanded the newly-appointed SHO of the Mauladad police station Qadir Chandio, should be removed immediately and threatened that if the demands were not accepted, then they would not allow police to do their duties peacefully.

He advised Jagir residents to leave the area so that he could settle his scores with police without causing any harm to others.

Sources said that police were seeking help from influential people of the district to get their colleagues freed and said police would also release Mitho Shah’s female family members and other women.

Asked about a possible deal between dacoits and police, SSP Channa categorically denied reports of the deal for the release of the policemen, and said that police operation against the gangs had instead been accelerated.

He said that police would continue the operation till achieving the target and get all hostages freed.

Published in Dawn, May 1st, 2023