DADU: Armed men, allegedly backed by some influential political figures of Sehwan, intercepted a police team, held it at gun point and got a suspect freed from its custody near Karampur on Friday.

SHO Zahid Hussain Jatyal of the Sehwan police station registered an FIR against four policemen – Mushtaq Halipoto (posted at the Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine), Imtiaz, Jamshed and Pervaiz – for intercepting and holding him and his colleagues hostage to get a suspect, Waseem Halipoto, freed.

The SHO stated in the FIR that his team had arrested the suspect in a criminal case and was escorting him to the police station when it was intercepted on the way.

Sources said that some political figures were pressuring the higher police officials to prevent them from ordering any action against the four policemen nominated in the FIR. Sehwan ASP Baidar Bakht told local reporters that the matter was being investigated and action would be taken once facts were ascertained.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2023