SUKKUR: The Shikar-pur police could not find a clue to SHO Mehboob Brohi and four other policemen, including his undertraining son, abducted by a gang of around 30 dacoits who had attacked the Kot Shahu police station in the early hours of Wednesday.

The gang had also taken away several official weapons and a sizeable amount of ammunition.

Shikarpur SSP had immediately sent a strong contingent of heavily arm-ed policemen to chase the gangsters into the riverine area of the district and rescue their colleagues but they could not find any clue to the dacoits and the hostages till Thursday evening.

Meanwhile, a case against 14 suspected dacoits belonging to the Badhani Jatoi gang and their 16 unknown facilitators has been registered under relevant sections of the Pakistan Penal Code and Anti-Terrorism Act at the Kot Shahu police station.

The nominated suspects included Dado, Banhu, Abdul Haq, Jabbar, Ghulam Mustafa, Popat, Ali Murad, Hazooro, Gaman and Shaukat.

Police destroy many hideouts

A big police force riding armoured personnel carriers (APCs) stormed its way into the gang-infested riverine area of Jamal, adjacent to the Tangwani town of Kandhkot-Kashmore district, and destroyed a number of hideouts, a statement issued by the Dera Sarki police said on Thursday.

The hideouts were demolished and torched during the action, said SHO Khamiso Khan Brohi, who led the action. He said many suspected criminals were taken into custody and one of them, Nazeer Jamal Oghai, who was wanted by police in many cases of heinous crimes, was booked and arrested following an encounter. A pistol was seized from him, the SHO said.

The area was cordoned off and personnel were deployed at the entry/exit points to prevent criminals from slipping away, he added.

Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2023