A Hindu hostage, among five people abducted by riverine bandits earlier this month, has been recovered, according to family.

Earlier this month, citizens had staged sit-ins for the recovery of members of the Hindu community who had been abducted in Kashmore, including Mukhi Jagdish Kumar, Sagar Kumar, Jaideep Kumar, Dr Munir Naij and Mushtaq Ali Mumdani.

On September 4, Mukhi Jagdish Kumar and Jaideep Kumar were recovered during a police encounter with the kidnappers. A day later, Dr Munir Naij was also recovered.

According to family, a fourth hostage, Sagar Kumar, reached home in Kashmore on Tuesday night after being held hostage for over a month.

Sagar’s brother, Sunil, told Dawn.com that the former was kidnapped on August 9, confirming that he had reached home. “Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kahsmore Rohal Khoso brought him to our house late last night,” Sunil said.

He added that Sagar was unwell and appeared to be suffering from malaria. “I have taken him to the clinic for laboratory tests. He can’t speak for now,” he said.

Last week, Caretaker Sindh Chief Minister retired Justice Maqbool Baqar had ordered authorities to suspend internet services in katcha (riverine) areas of the province as law enforcement agencies intensified operations against bandits holding people hostage.

The directives from the provincial chief executive had come a day after Sindh’s caretaker Minister for Law and Human Rights, Muhammed Umar Soomro, issued a stern warning that any feudal lord or politician found to be associated with dacoits would be subject to legal proceedings.

Separately, the Sindh Human Rights Commission (SHRC) had also written a letter to Sindh Inspector General of Police Riffat Mukhtar and the provincial home department in which it had raised alarm over the failure to recover the remaining hostages.

The SHRC also conveyed the report of its fact-finding mission sent to the district led by its member Sukhdev Assardas Hemnani to observe a protest organised by the Hindu community and civil society, and assess the human rights violations there.

According to a SHRC press release, upon assessment, the commission found growing mistrust of public in local police with respect to transparency of their operations against the outlaws, under-reported cases, discrepancies in the number of abductees and the overall police cooperation.